Here's a new book on economic theory by Richter and Rubinstein.
No Prices No Games! Four Economic Models by Michael Richter and Ariel Rubinstein
At the link you can download a pdf or read it online for free, or purchase a printed edition.
"While current economic theory focuses on prices and games, this book models economic settings where harmony is established through one of the following societal conventions:
• A power relation according to which stronger agents are able to force weaker ones to do things against their will.
• A norm that categorizes actions as permissible or forbidden.
• A status relation over alternatives which limits each agent's choices.
• Systematic biases in agents' preferences.
"These four conventions are analysed using simple and mathematically straightforward models, without any pretensions regarding direct applied usefulness. While we do not advocate for the adoption of any of these conventions specifically – we do advocate that when modelling an economic situation, alternative equilibrium notions should be considered, rather than automatically reaching for the familiar approaches of prices or games."
By email, Ariel tells me that he designed the cover.
Contents
0. Introduction
(pp. 1–12)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
1. Equilibrium in the Jungle
(pp. 13–36)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
2. The Permissible and the Forbidden
(pp. 37–64)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
3. Status and Indoctrination
(pp. 65–90)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
4. Biased Preferences Equilibrium
(pp. 91–110)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
5. A Comparison to Game Theory
(pp. 111–133)- Michael Richter
- Ariel Rubinstein
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