Micro-Motivation and Macro Behavior: A Contemporary World Academic Masterpiece. Economics Series

Author: (USA) Schelling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-25
Features: The theme of this book is the interrelationship between individual motivation, behavior (or micro-motivation), and the overall outcomes (or macro-behavior) it brings. It not only explores the surprising macro-outcomes resulting from individual behavior but also discusses the individual motivations or behaviors embedded in macro-outcomes, as well as whether it is possible to infer micro-motivations from observed macro-behaviors. Professor Schelling illustrates, through familiar and simple examples, what happens when overall behavior is not merely the simple sum of individual behaviors, why social members tend to overlook the collective consequences of their individual actions, and why attempts to derive individual intentions from group phenomena are a form of wishful thinking. In the book, he also establishes some models that are neither too difficult nor obvious, along with basic analytical systems, and applies these models and analytical systems to address social segregation issues similar to those caused by race, gender, age, and income.