Download full text
(1.309Mb)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:
https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-56452-2
Exports for your reference manager
An Agent-Based Computational Approach to "The Adam Smith Problem"
Das Adam Smith Problem: ein agentenbasierter Integrationsvorschlag
[journal article]
Abstract
This paper uses agent-based modeling to investigate the philosophy of Adam Smith. During his lifetime, Smith published two books. In An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), he argued that market behavior was dictated primarily by self-interest. However, his earlier boo... view more
This paper uses agent-based modeling to investigate the philosophy of Adam Smith. During his lifetime, Smith published two books. In An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), he argued that market behavior was dictated primarily by self-interest. However, his earlier book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), placed sympathy and benevolence at the center of human social psychology. Reconciling these apparently contradictory views is known as the Adam Smith Problem. This study uses an agent-based model to combine Smith’s theories, exploring how social norms affect economic behavior, and vice versa. Although they share many basic assumptions, Smith’s works leave important questions unanswered: Theory of Moral Sentiments offers a strong model of how social norms consolidate but lacks a coherent explanation for how norms change over time, and, on the other side, Wealth of Nations does not account for the influence of social norms on commercial transactions nor for the durability of seemingly irrational norms in a context of market competition. Considering both theories together in a single model sheds light on their underlying tensions and exposes instabilities that Smith did not anticipate.... view less
Keywords
theory comparison; simulation; business ethics; social psychology; model; computer; model construction; behavior model; social norm; Smith, A.; economic behavior
Classification
Social Psychology
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Free Keywords
Adam Smith; agent-based simulation; agent-based computational economics; digital humanities; intellectual history; Theory of Moral Sentiments; Wealth of Nations
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
p. 308-336
Journal
Historical Social Research, 43 (2018) 1
Issue topic
Agent-Based Modeling in Social Science, History, and Philosophy
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12759/hsr.43.2018.1.308-336
ISSN
0172-6404
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed