Los norteamericanos acaban de votar mayoritariamente, de nuevo, a Barack Obama como presidente del mundo. ¿Qué influye más en que se vote a un candidato u otro: el partido, como la haya hecho, las expectativas que genere, la raza, su familia, su voz...? ¿hasta qué punto no somos racionales cuando votamos? ¿Estáis de acuerdo con esta cita del Premio Nobel de economía de 1991 R. Coase?
I have often wondered why economists, with these absurd
ities all around them, so easily adopt the view that men
act rationally. This may be because they study an eco
nomic system in which the discipline of the market en
sures that, in a business setting, decisions are more or less
rational. The employee of a corporation who buys some
thing for $10 and sells it for $8 is not likely to do so for
long. Someone who, in a family setting, does much the
same thing, may make his wife and children miserable
throughout his life. A politician who wastes his country's
resources on a grand scale may have a successful career.
ities all around them, so easily adopt the view that men
act rationally. This may be because they study an eco
nomic system in which the discipline of the market en
sures that, in a business setting, decisions are more or less
rational. The employee of a corporation who buys some
thing for $10 and sells it for $8 is not likely to do so for
long. Someone who, in a family setting, does much the
same thing, may make his wife and children miserable
throughout his life. A politician who wastes his country's
resources on a grand scale may have a successful career.
—Ronald Coase, “Comment on Thomas W. Hazlett”
