Abstract

LARA, Arturo  and  BARRIENTOS, Inti. Is a Multi-Level Theory of the Agent Necessary? The Vernon Smith Perspective. Prob. Des [online]. 2017, vol.48, n.188, pp.165-186. ISSN 0301-7036.

Vernon Smith asserts that in order to realistically represent the multi-level nature of agents, it is necessary to go beyond economic theory. Drawing on resources from various disciplines, including the cognitive sciences, social psychology, and neuroscience, Smith builds two concepts: constructivist rationality (an individual’s conscious, deliberate use of reason, which leads to variability) and ecological rationality (a spontaneous, uninten tional emergent social order, which acts as a mechanism of evolutionary selection). Key to this explanation is a three-level conceptualization of the agent: 1) the internal order of the mind; 2) the external order of social exchange; and 3) the extended order of markets. The existence of these levels allows agents to respond in complex ways adapted to their environments, representing the multi-level nature of human beings.

Keywords : Vernon Smith; multi-level analysis model; multi-level agent theory; ecological rationality; constructivist rationality.

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