The End of Homo Economicus | Mieke Meurs | TEDxAUBG

Economists utterly fail to predict major recessions or even smaller economic events. This failure may be related to one key assumption central to most models--that people behave like "homo economicus," a hyper-rational, narrowly selfish economic man. In this talk, Mieke Meurs highlights recent work in heterodox and feminist economics that suggests that this assumption is unfounded. People are not generally of the type "economicus," nor can they be generalized as "homo." Replacing the foundational assumption of "homo economicus" with assumptions of "socialem personarum" (social persons) is essential if economists are to better predict economic and social outcomes.
Mieke Meurs is Professor of Economics at American University and Executive Vice President of the International Association for Feminist Economics. Her areas of research include household behavior, firm organization, and local government. She has published extensively on household behavior, with a particular focus on gender issues and rural households. Recent publications include “A data triangulation approach to understanding the behavior of small landholders in Bulgaria,” in Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Heterodox Economics and “Doing It All: Women’s Employment and Reproductive Work in Tajikistan,” Journal of Comparative Economics, with Vanya Slavchevska. She holds a Ph.d. in Economics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@KerryJ]

There are audio issues around 06:31. Any chance you could re-upload a clean version?

[@nthperson]

In terms of human behavior, I would argue that Henry George offered the best generalization that can be made. He observed that we seek to satisfy our desires with the least exertion; and, therefore, have a strong tendency to attempt to monopolize natural opportunities.

[@botchedmandala5197]

There should be a "most" at the beginning of the description: Steve Keen, Michael Hudson and others predicted it

[@muskduh]

thanks for the ted talks

[@williamsillon2031]

Not only gender economics but we should also consider including racial, income level, marital status, religious affiliation, etc. to create a more accurate representation of this personae sociales

[@notactuallyluna]

the girl at 07:08 is a whole mood

[@joshualawore4100]

Which one

[@wilcamacho8975]

I dont think its just coincidence. The Audio were sabotaged!!!!!

[@zartzan]

Sounds like a study in mass psychology would be more useful in economics. Isaac Asimov coined "PsychoHistory" in his Foundation series as the tool to predict and guide future events. The concept has been used successfully in the advertising industry for anticipating mass trends.
Where is Hari Seldon when you need him?

[@standowner6979]

He never existed

[@fluoroproilne]

The lector: "economic man" is an inadequate model. Every person makes a decision depending from their unique societal context and past experience.
Also the lector a minute later: let's just replace "economic man" with "man and women" and average them separately and the theory will be just fine.
Me to myself: but this is not a change of model, this is a mere correction to the existing one 🧐

[@myTHself]

dy/dx!!! ,,, real time economic model input! PLUG ME IN!! - what did you say? I already am plugged in! - we could track everybody all the time to make a god that really understands our wants and needs! ! socio dy/dx god!! xx