Homo economicus

Homo Economicus is the theoretical portrait of a human who is consistently rational and self-interested. The main motive of all transactions and actions are deriving from rational egoism (D. A. Urbina and A. Ruiz-Villaverde, 2019). The term homo economicus comes from the combination of two other terms - homo sapiens (humans) and economics. Homo economicus can also be understood as economic man. The concept of homo economicus is highly discussed in economics, sociology, psychology and antropology studies. In economics, the concept of economic man is often discussed together with profit-maximisation (the theory of the firm), utility maximisation (consumer choice) and theorems of welfare (D. A. Urbina and A. Ruiz-Villaverde, 2019).

Homo economicus

The term Homo economicus was first used by John Stuart Mill, who described man as a being who desires to possess wealth, and who is capable of judging the comparative efficacy of means for obtaining that end(D. A. Urbina and A. Ruiz-Villaverde, 2019).

Characteristics of homo economicus

Homo economicus can be descirbed as:

References

• Ailon G. (2020), The Phenomenology of Homo Economicus. Sociological Theory, (38.1),36-50.
• Leonard L. (2006), In Search of Homo Economicus: Cognitive Noise and the Role of Emotion in Preference Consistency Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 173–87.
• Urbina D. A. and Ruiz-Villaverde A. (2019), A Critical Review of Homo Economicus from Five Approaches. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, (78), 63-93.

Author: Nikita Shtemenko