Why the Realist-Instrumentalist Debate about Rational Choice Rests on a Mistake

Within the social sciences, much controversy exists about which status should be ascribed to the rationality assumption that forms the core of rational choice theories. Whilst realists argue that the rationality assumption is an empirical claim which describes real processes that cause individual action, instrumentalists maintain that it amounts to nothing more than an analytically set axiom or ‘as if’ hypothesis which helps in the generation of accurate predictions. In this paper, I argue that this realist-instrumentalist debate about rational choice theory can be overcome once it is realised that the rationality assumption is neither an empirical description nor an ‘as if’ hypothesis, but a normative claim

Why is Behavioral Game a Game for Economists? : The concept of beliefs in equilibrium

The interdisciplinary exchange between economists and psychologists has so far been more active and fruitful in the modifications of Expected Utility Theory than in those of Game Theory. We argue that this asymmetry may be explained by economists' specific way of doing equilibrium analysis of aggregate-level outcomes in their practice, and by psychologists' reluctance to fully engage with such practice. We focus on the notion of belief that is embedded in economists' practice of equilibrium analysis, more specifically Nash equilibrium, and argue that its difference from the psychological counterpart is one of the factors that makes interdisciplinary exchange in behavioral game theory more difficult.Peer reviewe

Outcome in patients who require renal support after surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Over a 3-year period haemofiltration and dialysis was provided for 18 patients who developed renal failure after operation for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Four of the patients underwent operation elsewhere and were transferred when renal failure was diagnosed. The median duration of renal support in the 11 survivors was 24 days, while the seven patients who died received support for a median of 11 days. By 3 months after operation eight of the 11 survivors were independent of dialysis. Renal support was life saving in eight of 91 patients operated on in Oxford for ruptured AAA and reduced the 30-day operative mortality rate from a potential 47 per cent to an actual 38 per cent. Haemofiltration and haemodialysis for acute renal failure after surgery for ruptured aortic aneurysm is clinically justified and results in the long-term survival of most patients

Choice, habit and evolution

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com Copyright SpringerSeveral leading mainstream economists including Gary Becker have treated habit as serially correlated behaviour resulting from deliberate choices. This approach puts choice before habit but involves assumptions of extensive memory and decision-making capacity. By contrast, earlier authors such as William James, John Dewey and Thorstein Veblen saw deliberation and choice as a contingent outcome of habits, where the latter are defined in terms of acquired dispositions rather than overt behaviour. The approach of this second group is more consistent with an evolutionary perspective and the limited computational capacities of the human brain. © Springer-Verlag 2009.Peer reviewe