Economic Theorist's Book of Tales : Essays That Entertain the Consequences of New Assumptions in Economic Theory

This book is a collection of essays exploring the consequences of making non-standard economic assumptions. It breaks with traditional economic theory, which relied upon a tacit and 'classical' set of assumptions that have gradually acquired a life of their own in terms of how economists write, think, and justify economic models. The essays cover a wide range of microeconomic and macroeconomic fields - from insurance markets and trade in underdeveloped countries to unemployment and discrimination. Some of the essays derive the implications of costly asymmetric information for economic markets. Others explore the findings of other social sciences including anthropology, psychology, and sociology.