"What are the questions?"

Abstract

This paper argues that, in attempting to provide accurate explanations of economic behavior, economists have to account, in the structures of their models, for the cultural backgrounds of the agents in question. In particular, utility and profit maximization (or their equivalent) cannot be used universally as motivating forces everywhere because cultural effects can lead to different thought processes, different motivations, and hence different decision rules. Failure to introduce such effects into economists' models can lead to errors in understanding and policy recommendations that do not produce intended results.

Keywords:

• culture
• economic behavior
• explanation
• models
• policy