Microeconomics, Behavioral Economics

Some of Law and Economics’ basic claims have come to be criticized as a result of empirical findings that question their viability. Particularly, the premise that agents consistently act rationally and with their self-interest in mind seems problematic. What the consequences of the criticism mean for Law and Economics’ tenability depends largely on the questions whether (1) some elements are unassailable to the alternative’s objections and (2) the alternative is a systematic whole. It is argued that Law and Economics may be salvaged, if it is minimized and its ambitions are tempered. This means focusing on the stable, a priori, elements inherent to it.

ኢትዮጵያን ላለፉት ሩብ ክፍለ ዘመን የመራውና እየመራ ሚገኘው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር (ኢህአዴግ) መመሪያው ያደረገው አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ርዕዮተ ዓለም በብዙ የፖለቲካና ኢኮኖሚ ተንታኞችና ምሁራን ሲተች ይደመጣል፡፡ እንዲያውም አንዳንዶች እንዲህ የሚባል ርዕዮተ ዓለም በዓለም ታይቶ አያውቅም፤ ምንም አይነት የፖለቲካ-ኢኮኖሚ አስተምህሮና (Thoughts) ሀልዮቶች (theories) ድጋፍ የሌለው ነው ብለው ይከራከራሉ፡፡ በእርግጥም ስለ አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ምንነት ብዙዎች ግራ ይጋባሉ፤ እንዲያውም የራሱ የኢህአዴግ አባላት ሳይቀሩ በአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ዙሪያ የጠራ ግንዛቤ የላቸውም ሲባል መስማት እንግዳ አይደለም፡፡ ሌላው ደግሞ ግልጽ የፖለቲካና የኢኮኖሚ አቅጣጫዎች አያስቀምጥም የሚል ነው፡፡ የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ የፖለቲካና ኢኮኖሚ ገጾች መስተጋብርን የሚፈትሸው ይህ መጣጥፍ ለሚከተሉት ጠያቄዎች መልስ ለመስጠት ይሞከራል፡‹-
• አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ምንድነው? የኢኮኖሚና ፖለቲካ ገጾቹስ?
• የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ባህርያትና ምንድናቸው? መነሾዎችስ? 
• የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ባህርያት የፖለቲካ-ኢኮኖሚ እንድምታዎች ምንድናቸው?
• ላለፉት ሃያ አምስት አመታት በተለያዩ የጊዜ ማዕቀፎች ኢትዮጵያ የተመራችበት የኢኮኖሚ ፍልስፍናዎች ማለትም የነጭ ካፒታሊዝም አስተምህሮ (ከ1983 እስከ 1997 ገደማ) እና የልማታዊ መንግስት አስተምህሮ (ከ1998 ወዲህ) የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ፖለቲካዊና ኢኮኖሚ ግቦችን ከማሳካት አንጻር ምን ያህል ውጤታማነታቸው እንዴት ይታያል?  በሌላ አማርኛ ነጭ ካፒታሊዝም ወይም ልማታዊ መንግስት የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ዋነኛ የኢኮኖሚ  ግቦችን ለማስፈጸም ትክክለኛ አማራጮች ናቸው?

በኢትዮጵያ የማህበራዊ ምህዳር በቅርብ ዓመታት ካስተዋልናቸው ሁነቶች አንዱ የስርዓተ ጾታ ለውጥ አንዱ ነው፡፡ ይህ የስርዓተ ጾታ ለውጥ ማህበራዊ ልማታችንን ሊያሳድግ፣ ትዳርና ቤተሰብን ሊያበለጽግ የሚያስችሉ በርካታ ዕድሎችን የመፍጠሩን ያህል ትዳራችንን ሊያውኩ፣ ቤተሰባችንን ሊበክሉ የሚችሉ በርካታ አጋጣሚዎችም ይዛል፡፡ ከነዚህ ውስጥ አንዱና ዋናው የስርዓተ ጾታ ለውጥ ነው፡፡ በዘመናችን ከትዳርና ከቤተሰባዊ ጉዳዮች አንጻር የምናያቸውን ለውጦችን (አሉታዊ ነገሮችን) ለመረዳት የትዳርና ስርዓተ ጾታን ቁርኝት ማንሳት ይጠይቃል፡፡ የዚህ መጣጥፍ አላማ በተለይ በቅርብ ዓመታት እየታየ ስላለው የስርዓተ ጾታ ለውጥና ይህም በትዳር (ቤተሰብ) ላይ እያሳደረ ያለው፣ ወደፊትም የሚያሳድረው ተጽዕኖ ምንድነው? የሚለውን መቃኘት ነው፡፡

There are two reasons to go beyond Behavioral Economics. The first reason is that humans, as presented by this school, do not explain many critical economic problems. Behavioral Economics is not an alternative paradigm to traditional economics. It is only one of the New Schools of thought, that has risen due to the failure of the contemporary Neoclassical School to show that markets have a unique maximum welfare full employment equilibrium. Therefore, in order to delimit Behavioral Economics ́ contributions we need to look at the whole paradigm in economics, which today includes: the contemporary neoclassical paradigm plus all the New Schools of thought. The second reason is that humans, as described by Behavioral Economics, are not a good representation of mans ́ evolutionary characteristics. For Behavioral Economics, humans are emotional beings which often do not know what is best for them, and need the help of the government to make the choices which are truly convenient; and they display altruistic and social cooperative behavior, even in monetary transactions. But evolutionarily we are neither design to be emotional or rational, nor to be selfish or altruistic and socially cooperative. We are design to be flexible for survival purposes, and to display a wide range of behaviors.

ኢትዮጵያን ላለፉት ሩብ ክፍለ ዘመን የመራውና እየመራ ሚገኘው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር (ኢህአዴግ) መመሪያው ያደረገው አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ርዕዮተ ዓለም በብዙ የፖለቲካና ኢኮኖሚ ተንታኞችና ምሁራን ሲተች ይደመጣል፡፡ እንዲያውም አንዳንዶች እንዲህ የሚባል ርዕዮተ ዓለም በዓለም ታይቶ አያውቅም፤ ምንም አይነት የፖለቲካ-ኢኮኖሚ አስተምህሮና (Thoughts) ሀልዮቶች (theories) ድጋፍ የሌለው ነው ብለው ይከራከራሉ፡፡ በእርግጥም ስለ አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ምንነት ብዙዎች ግራ ይጋባሉ፤ እንዲያውም የራሱ የኢህአዴግ አባላት ሳይቀሩ በአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ዙሪያ የጠራ ግንዛቤ የላቸውም ሲባል መስማት እንግዳ አይደለም፡፡ ሌላው ደግሞ ግልጽ የፖለቲካና የኢኮኖሚ አቅጣጫዎች አያስቀምጥም የሚል ነው፡፡ የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ የፖለቲካና ኢኮኖሚ ገጾች መስተጋብርን የሚፈትሸው ይህ መጣጥፍ ለሚከተሉት ጠያቄዎች መልስ ለመስጠት ይሞከራል፡‹-
• አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ምንድነው? የኢኮኖሚና ፖለቲካ ገጾቹስ?
• የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ባህርያትና ምንድናቸው? መነሾዎችስ? 
• የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ባህርያት የፖለቲካ-ኢኮኖሚ እንድምታዎች ምንድናቸው?
• ላለፉት ሃያ አምስት አመታት በተለያዩ የጊዜ ማዕቀፎች ኢትዮጵያ የተመራችበት የኢኮኖሚ ፍልስፍናዎች ማለትም የነጭ ካፒታሊዝም አስተምህሮ (ከ1983 እስከ 1997 ገደማ) እና የልማታዊ መንግስት አስተምህሮ (ከ1998 ወዲህ) የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ፖለቲካዊና ኢኮኖሚ ግቦችን ከማሳካት አንጻር ምን ያህል ውጤታማነታቸው እንዴት ይታያል?  በሌላ አማርኛ ነጭ ካፒታሊዝም ወይም ልማታዊ መንግስት የአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ዋነኛ የኢኮኖሚ  ግቦችን ለማስፈጸም ትክክለኛ አማራጮች ናቸው?

In his cabinet speech couple of months since selected as Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D) disclosed lack of integrity would be one of the challenges his ledership would face in time ahead.

Even recently, while reporting the house of peoples representatives on the half-year performance of his government, the premier reiterated the challenge to have remained core hinderance of his leadership. This time, however,  Dr. Abiy was cautious but explicit when he stated (we) Ethiopians are facing challenges because of our 'short term memory' mindset.

Indeed, in his public speeches the premier repeatedly advised Ethiopians ought to be more thoughtful and less emotional while making decisions in their activities, in all walks of their life.

But quiet different than his predecessors, why Prime Minister Abiy is more focused on behavioral issues as a pillar of his governance?

This piece is meant to addressing this and related topics.

This paper introduces the idea of a corporate-guided market. It highlights the seven aspects of corporate-guided markets. As an exemplar, it explains the launch and subsequent development of Diet Coke by Coca Cola Inc. in terms of the seven aspects.

Esta pesquisa visa explorar o comportamento de consumo do consumidor brasileiro de comércio eletrônico em suas mudanças, tendências e resiliência durante a pandemia de coronavírus no Brasil nos anos de 2020 e 2021, tendo em vista o impacto do contexto econômico-social e sanitário do período e das medidas restritivas de fechamento do comércio local. Para isto foram realizados estudos de casos múltiplos por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com sete consumidores residentes em Salvador escolhidos por diferenças de perfis previamente classificados (diferentes faixas etárias: jovem, meia-idade e idoso; tipos de estabilidade de renda durante a pandemia: renda estável e renda instável). O consumo foi dividido entre compras de bens físicos e de bens e serviços digitais. É analisado o histórico de consumo por e-commerce (na modalidade business to consumer) dos entrevistados antes da pandemia, durante o período de vigência das primeiras medidas restritivas de fechamento do comércio (entre março e julho de 2020) e após a reabertura dos comércios em julho de 2020 até maio de 2021. A análise dos casos indica a existência de um grande impacto de variáveis associadas à pandemia sobre o consumo por e-commerce dos entrevistados (principalmente ansiedade induzida pelo isolamento social, medo de contaminação pelo vírus e fechamento dos comércios), a existência de uma tendência de redução das compras presenciais, um maior apego à experiência de compras presenciais entre consumidores maduros e um potencial de crescimento do consumo entre jovens com aumento de renda. É identificado o custo de frete como uma grande barreira para a elevação das possibilidades de consumo.

The essence of this book shall be understood for being thought provoking work. The bulk of narratives lies in hypothesizing and attempting to justify on behavioral and institutional elements shared by people and/or communities of eastern Ethiopia. To that end, the whole set of narratives were in line of addressing the followings:  a. Is there  a value system (Philosophy of life) shared among communities within eastern Ethiopia, as reckoned in the book simple life style in eastern Ethiopia settings? b. What are pillars and peculiarities of simplicity in eastern Ethiopia settings? Or what are behavioral and institutional elements of valued lifestyle? c. How the concept of simple lifestyle interpreted into hedonic, eudamonic and affective wellbeings of individuals? d. How shared lifestyle implicated into key variables to wellbeing of communities: the incentive system, individualism, consumption,  saving, the nature and workings institutions (both formal and informal)? e. What lessons the academic circle and policy practitioners draw in their respective endeavors aimed at promoting the wellbeing of people and communities? f. How better policy regimes can address community development and collective wellbeing in general and in the context of Eastern Ethiopia in particular?
In an effort to address its objectives, which are outlined above, the book relied on three interrelated approaches of making inferences i. ethnographic approach ii. technique of characterization, comparative analysis & conceptualization iii. Formative research approaches.

በዘልማድ አንድን ግለሰብ ወይም ቡድን እየጠቀስን እከሌ እኮ ብሔርተኝነት ያጠቃዋል፣ ለሀገር ስጋት ነው ወዘተ.... እያልን መፈረጅ በተደጋጋሚ ከምታዘባቸው የማህበራዊ ሚዲያ ልውውጦች አንዱ ነው። ግለሰቦችን ወይም ቡድኖችን በብሔርተኝነት ስንፈርጅ እውን ብሔርተኛ የሚለውን ቃል መዝገበ ቃላታዊ እና (ወይም) ጽንሰ ሐሳባዊ ትርጉም ተረድተነዋል? ግለሰቦቹን የምንኮንንበት አግባብ ምንድነው? በምክንያት ወይስ የብየናችን መሠረት ግለሰባዊ ጥላቻ (personal animosity)፣ የእውቀት ማነስ (illiteracy)፣ የስሚ ስሚ (heresay) ፣ ወይንስ ...?

Once thriving for being powerhouse of Ethiopia's material and spiritual prosperity, today eastern communities are losing ground in many ways. Those cities and towns which were symbols virtually on every aspect of public life since the formation of modern Ethiopian state are seemingly losing their importance. What happened to easterners, Alas?!

In his cabinet speech couple of months since selected as Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D) disclosed lack of integrity would be one of the challenges his ledership would face in time ahead. Even recently, while reporting the house of peoples representatives on the half-year performance of his government, the premier reiterated the challenge to have remained core hinderance of his leadership. But this time, Dr. Abiy was cautious but explicit when he stated (we) Ethiopians are facing challenges because of our 'short term memory' mindset. Indeed, in his public speeches the premier repeatedly advised Ethiopians ought to be more thoughtful and less emotional while making decisions in their activities, in all walks of their life.
But quiet different than his predecessors, why Prime Minister Abiy is more focused on behavioral issues as a pillar of his governance? This piece is meant to addressing this and related topics.