Robert Akerlof is an economist at the University of Warwick who does path breaking research on the interface between economics and sociology. Economists, as a rule, assume that people are individualistic. Robby's work models behavior as dependent, in important part, on how we are viewed by others -- by peer effects -- and on how we view ourselves -- self-esteem. This leads to very interesting endogenous decisions and behavior in all walks of life -- who to hang with in high school to who should work in a marriage to how to motivate workers in one's company to how to handle disputes to national fertility policy. Do listen to/watch this podcast. It will change your sense of self and society in profound ways.
Here's Robby's bio.
Robert Akerlof is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick and a research affiliate of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Prior to joining Warwick, he was a postdoctoral research associate at MIT Sloan School of Management. He received his PhD from Harvard, where he was a Presidential Scholar. His main research interests are sociology and economics, organizational economics, and applied microeconomic theory. His work particularly focuses on social interaction.
Economic Matters - The podcast is hosted by Laurence Kotlikoff and moderated by Alex Kotlikoff.
Laurence Kotlikoff is a Boston University Economist, a NY Times Best Selling Author, President of maxifi.com, and Author of Money Magic.
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Sociology Meets Economics -- Join Economics Matters for a Fascinating Conversation with Economist Robert Akerlof