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- ISBN: 9780415068734 | 0415068738
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 12/20/1994
Rules and Choice in Economicsis concerned with how the rules and institutions which are the basis of cooperation in society can be systematically explained. Economics, with its emphasis on individual choice, seems unable to account for individuals following rules when it is not in their interest to do so. Sociology, which can explain such rule-following behavior, struggles to account for purposeful individual action. In the place of these models, Viktor J. Vanberg offers an account which cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Analyzing the work of thinkers including Hayek, Rawls, Nozick and Coleman, Vanberg addresses issues such as rational choice, rule following behavior, self-interest and morality. The book pays particular attention to a comparison of Hayek's evolutionary liberalism and Buchanan's contractarian liberalism. Taken together the various parts of the volume represent a coherent theoretical argument about why institutions cohere and why theychange.