This paper argues that there are two rival meanings of the concept of ecological rationality, which are often believed to be closely related if not similar. The first type is ecological rationality (ER1) as used in the work of Gerd Gigerenzer, which refers to the use of cognitive strategies,...

This paper argues that the different symbolic meaning of goods (functional, status and taste) give rise to three institutionally different market types. We start from the realization that consumption has symbolic meaning, which individuals use to communicate and construct their identity to their...

One of the defining features of much of modern social science and economics, in particular, is the hard break it posits between everyday and scientific knowledge. French philosophers have called this feature the epistemological break. One of the key consequences of this feature is that...

Jan Tinbergen was the first Nobel Prize winner in Economics and one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. This book argues that his crucial contribution is the theory of economic policy and the legitimation of economic expertise in service of the state. It traces his youthful...

Knowledge commons facilitate voluntary private interactions in markets and societies. These shared pools of knowledge consist of intellectual and legal infrastructures that both enable and constrain private initiatives. This volume brings together theoretical and empirical approaches that...

This article analyzes the role that crowdfunding plays for artists who create small-scale projects. We find that artists struggle to reach new audiences and, thus, mainly use this funding tool to transform monetary gifts into reputation for their careers. Crowdfunding platforms are believed to...

Economics is characterized by an epistemological break: a discontinuity, between everyday and scientific understandings. An extensive empirical literature proves the so-called economic ignorance of the public. This has created a disdain for the public among economists and provided an argument...