The Human Sub-System
Sub-Module Topic: Human Behavior and its Relevance to Resource Allocation /
Course Learning Outcome(s):
1. Formulate a whole system approach to the human subsystem structure and function.
Module Outcome(s):
1. Analyze theories of human behavior and its relevance to resource allocation and welfare.
Activities:
1. Human Behavior Wiki: Before doing any of the readings, make up a list of 5 personality traits that define a good or admirable person, and 5 personality traits that define a bad or despicable person. Physical traits such as strength, intelligence, athletic ability, looks, and so on are irrelevant. Post these to the Wiki. If your list contains a characteristic that one of your classmates already listed, add your name alongside it. If you disagree with a characteristic someone else used, explain why.
2. Take the rationality survey. This should only take 2 minutes. (I doubt the results will show much, because there are so few people actively engaged in the course, but after you take it I will describe the results from other classes and other research.)
3. Reading: John M. Gowdy (2004) Altruism, evolution, and welfare economics. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Vol. 53 69–73.
4. Reading: Ernst Fehr & Urs Fischbacher (2003) The Nature of Human Altruism. NATURE | VOL 425 | 23 OCTOBER 2003
5. Reading: pp. 237-244 in D&F.
6. Take the survey on good/bad people. If you were to place one good person and one bad person together on a desert island, both with the same physical traits, who do you think would be most likely to thrive? If you placed 10 good people on one island and 10 bad people on another island, which population would be most likely to thrive?
7. Project work: reading on breaking down the problem.
8. Discussion board (Human sub-system: Good/Bad people): In module 1.2 we asked you to read "Economic Man" and “Wants” from the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Post your views on the following topics: Do you think the explicit and implicit human behaviors in the neoclassical economic model most closely resemble an admirable or a despicable person? Do you think most people are admirable, despicable, or somewhere in between? Do you think the human race would be more likely to thrive if we behaved like good people or bad people? Do you think cultural evolution can change our behavior?
9. Recommended: Project work: Sketch out a decision hierarchy diagram.
10. Recommended: Discussion board (Human sub-system: rationality survey). Go to the rationality survey discussion board to view the results. Post a brief comment on the extent to which you believe people behave rationally, and the implications for economic theory. Read other’s comments.
11. View Josh’s lecture on the economics of ecosystem services. Note that this lecture covers many topics you’ve already addressed, but for this unit, we specifically want you to consider the macro-allocation problem: How do we allocate ecosystem structure between economic production and ecosystem services, both of which are essential to our survival. Do you think competition or cooperation is better suited to this task? Recommended: Discussion board (Human sub-system: Ecosystem services) Post your reflections on this question to the discussion board, and respond to the reflections of others.
12. Integrative project work: Return to the exercise on resource characteristics and state of knowledge, assigned as part of the introductory module. Explain how you think the resource characteristics might influence how they should be allocated (i.e. competitively or cooperatively). Now apply your explanation to the specific resources relevant to your project.
Self Check: Make sure you can answer the questions on the right.
Submit as Proof(s) of Learning: Red=recommended; Green = simple surveys/wikis that feed discussions
Activities 1,2,6,8,9,10,11,12
For more information about this module and its contents, contact your instructor.
/At the end of this section you should be able to answer the following questions:
· What are human needs?· How do people behave?
· To what extent are humans inherently rational?
· To what extent are humans satiable and insatiable?
· To what extent are humans inherently competitive, and to what extent cooperative?
· Why is cooperation more effective than competition for allocating certain types of resources?