Valores e instituciones en el análisis económico

The economic science, the so-called ‘neoclassical economics’, has usually avoided considering the values of its field of study. This has led to important limitations in its theoretical system. This article intends to go beyond this neutral positivist approach. It presents different theoretical lines which include those values within the economic analysis, exploring their consequences. It studies the relationship between values and the individuals’ behaviour, specially the cooperative behaviour, and the relationship between values and institutions and organizations. (Editor’s note: cooperatives are organizations which have historically included certain social values, such as democracy, equity and solidarity, among their rules of economic behaviour).