Archive | 2019
Would IOET Make Economics More Neoclassical or More Behavioral? Richard Thaler’s Prediction, a Revisit
Abstract
Abstract This chapter provides an economic study of the Internet of Everything (IoE). The fundamental question pursued by us is the impact of IoE on economic theory, specifically, the rationality of individuals in economic theory or in the history of economic analysis. To this end we examine individuals in the era of conventional economic theory in contrast to individuals in the era of the IoE. This comparison motivates us to sketch the future of individuals in economic theory. Two decades ago the Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler proposed two possibilities on this branching point: homo economicus, as people are depicted in neoclassical economics, and homo sapiens, as they are articulated in behavioral economics. Without the awareness of IoE, Thaler predicted that the latter would be the trend. In this paper, we shall address his prediction in light of the advent of IoE, and address the following two possibilities, namely, trend reversal and trend sustaining.