Béatrice Boulu-Reshef

Toward a Personal Identity Argument to Combine Potentially Conflicting Social Identities

Despite the boom in research on identity in economics, the question of how to depict personal identity in a fashion that combines potentially conflicting social identities has so far been largely ignored. This paper introduces a framework that relies on the structure of the social realm that is exogenous to the individual in order to depict investment decisions as per social identities. The structure of the environment is identified using organizational boundaries and identity production functions are used to combine social identities. The inclusion of the various social spaces that are relevant to personal identity strategies enables one to simultaneously study identification strategies and individuation strategies. It also allows the depiction of social identities that may be conflicting, due to different social commitments and/or norm valuations. This externalist conception of identity helps discuss the limitations of internalist conceptions of identity and accounts for the heterogeneity of identity strategies across individuals.

Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Prediction and Control Oriented Strategies

The economics-related prediction strategies and the effectuation-related control strategies are two main competing hypotheses of how entrepreneurs deal with uncertainty in theories of entrepreneurship. In an experimental test, we study the conditions under which prediction and control strategies lead subjects to make a risky bet in ambiguous environments. Individuals who use predictive methods to gain information and mitigate risks are more likely to accept the bet after receiving bad news as compared to those who used control methods. These results revert in the presence of good news. We discuss the theoretical implications of the results for theories of entrepreneurship.

Individuals and Identity in Economics

essential nature of the law. Also, the Coase theorem actually states the irrelevance of the law. White also argues that behavioral economics in their normative guise pose a danger to dignity when combined with a utilitarian policy-oriented field like law and economics. This section presents a deep analysis of these fields of economics that is definitely worth reading. It also contains a valuable set of analytical instruments that surely represent a promising branch of research in social economics. In conclusion, even if the author of this review is, by education, closer to other systems of ethics, he would like to highlight not only how worthwhile it is to read this book, but also the relevance and promise of a Kantian approach to social law and economics.

Economics of Identity and Economics of the Firm: Why and How Their Three Central Questions Overlap

This paper shows how the literature on identity can enhance the so-far underdeveloped appreciation of social context in the theory of the firm. While taking context into account, I explain why the literatures overlap in significant ways and I propose an analytical map which relies on and matches the three central questions of both literatures. The three central questions on identity – identification, individuation and multiple social identities – are coupled respectively with the three central questions on the firm – the nature of the firm, internal organization and firm boundaries. This identity-based extension of the economics of the firm contributes to the organization of the literature by extending the analysis of identity to questions that go beyond the primary question of identification. In doing so, it identifies two key research agendas: the role of internal organization in enabling individuation and the role of firm boundaries in enabling collective intentions.