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The Economics of Identity and the Identity of Economics

Fine, Ben

Authors



Abstract

Drawing upon individual and social choice theory, the economic approach to identity associated with Akerlof and Kranton is critically assessed in terms of its own definitional and technical conundrums. This leads on to an external critique in terms of the limited extent to which identity can be addressed by mainstream economic methods. Indeed, the latter essentially sets aside the insights into the nature of identity that emerged with modernism, let alone postmodernism. As a result, the enterprise of constructing an economics of identity is set in the context of recent changes in, and disagreement over interpretation of, the identity of contemporary economics.

Citation

Fine, B. (2009). The Economics of Identity and the Identity of Economics. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(2), 175-191. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/ben036

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2009
Deposit Date Mar 26, 2009
Journal Cambridge Journal of Economics
Print ISSN 0309-166X
Electronic ISSN 1464-3545
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 33
Issue 2
Pages 175-191
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/ben036
Publisher URL http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/ben036