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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 page book review that offers an overview of Tim Harford' economic analysis of human behavior, which argues that all behavior is due to rational choice. No additional sources are cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_khharford.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
that it explains human behavior so well and, thereby, shows that there are no easy answers and many well-intentioned solutions, which seem like they ought to work, actually acerbate the
original problem. Harfords premise is quite simple. He portrays people as rational creatures who respond to incentives and avoid disincentives, who seek out pleasure and avoid pain. Therefore, everything we
do, even those behaviors that harm our health and damage our lives are due to rational choices. Harford writes, "...that if you do not understand the rational choices that underlie
much of our behavior, you cannot understand the world in which we live" (Harford xi). Harford uses this premise to explain numerous examples of human behavior that seem mysterious
in terms of logic and rational choice. For example, take smoking. Since the 1960s warnings have appeared on cigarette packages indicating the dangers of this habit. The dangers are well
known, yet many young people continue purposefully take up smoking, knowing this danger, which is not logically from a surface perspective. Harfords analysis goes beyond the surface, looking at all
the sociological factors involved, and makes a logical argument that this behavior can be blamed on nicotine patches and gum and all the other products that have been developed to
successfully wean people from this dangerous habit. He reports that economic analysis finds that "advertising for nicotine patch and gum seems to encourage nonsmoking teenagers to smoke" (Harford 57). The
ads portray quitting as easy, therefore, it is perceived as "less risky to begin the habit" as they can always quit using either the patch or gum (Harford 67).
The author offers similar rationales on a wide variety of topics, often showing why seemingly rational choices have effects that people do not expect. For example, Harford argues that rational
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