TY - JOUR
T1 - Economics of the community mechanism
AU - Ogaki, Masao
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was partly supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI Grant nos. 19H00599 and 21K18129, a Suntory Foundation Research Grant, and Keio University Academic Development Funds.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - This paper discusses the importance of the community mechanism that complements the market and power mechanisms in an economic system during an era of crisis, defined as a mechanism for resource allocation by which at least one person proposes voluntary cooperation, and the proposal is not rejected. While this community mechanism can function alongside homo economicus in win–win situations, it can be further activated with social preferences for altruism and reciprocity and with norms or worldviews that encourage cooperation. Other factors that relate to these include the character strengths that contribute to community and society known as virtues, with the concept of wellbeing related to virtues being known as eudaimonia. Some aspects of the acquisition of virtues can be viewed as changing preferences, and there is empirical evidence suggesting changes in trust relate to changes in preferences. Leadership is an example of the virtue of justice, and servant leadership seems important for the community mechanism, as does perspective taking. For evaluating policies, normative economics based only on consequentialism may not be sufficient, and virtue ethics seems essential when the community mechanism is important.
AB - This paper discusses the importance of the community mechanism that complements the market and power mechanisms in an economic system during an era of crisis, defined as a mechanism for resource allocation by which at least one person proposes voluntary cooperation, and the proposal is not rejected. While this community mechanism can function alongside homo economicus in win–win situations, it can be further activated with social preferences for altruism and reciprocity and with norms or worldviews that encourage cooperation. Other factors that relate to these include the character strengths that contribute to community and society known as virtues, with the concept of wellbeing related to virtues being known as eudaimonia. Some aspects of the acquisition of virtues can be viewed as changing preferences, and there is empirical evidence suggesting changes in trust relate to changes in preferences. Leadership is an example of the virtue of justice, and servant leadership seems important for the community mechanism, as does perspective taking. For evaluating policies, normative economics based only on consequentialism may not be sufficient, and virtue ethics seems essential when the community mechanism is important.
KW - Altruism
KW - Community mechanism
KW - Eudaimonia
KW - Reciprocity
KW - Trust
KW - Virtue
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U2 - 10.1007/s42973-022-00113-2
DO - 10.1007/s42973-022-00113-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85128187477
VL - 73
SP - 433
EP - 457
JO - Japanese Economic Review
JF - Japanese Economic Review
SN - 1352-4739
IS - 3
ER -