Description
Book SynopsisIn
Not Just for the Money Professor Frey challenges traditional economic theory and argues that people do not act in expectation of monetary gain alone, nor do they work solely because they are paid. Furthermore, the author claims that higher monetary compensation as well as regulations crowd-out motivation in important circumstances. Offering higher pay may make people less committed to their work and may reduce their performance. They thus behave in exactly the opposite way the fundamental price-effect of economics predicts.
The first part of the book considers the Crowding-Out Effect and the Motivational Spill-Over Effect. The second part explores a large number of applications to constitutional questions, various policy issues and the organization of firms. The final part discusses the substantial consequences for policy making and economic theory.
This path breaking book is bound to create controversy and debate. It will appeal not only to economists but to a wide range of social scientists who want to go beyond the traditional assumption of economic man.
Trade Review'What he [Bruno Frey] offers is both challenging and pervasive in its relevance. He is ambitious enough to aspire to make economics less presumptive and less general, but - as he himself observes - earlier efforts to integrate psychology into economics have been noted while precious little effect on economics as a whole. His book is provocative and interesting and likely to yield some further empirical efforts to measure putative crowding-out effects, but scepticism and inertia are likely to be difficult barriers to overcome.'Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: The Crowding-Out Effect 2. Everyday Experiences 3. The Psychological Background 4. Integration into Economics 5. Motivational Spill-Over Effect Part II: Applications 6. A Strict or Lenient Constitution? 7. Environmental Policy 8. Siting Policy, or: the NIMBY-problem (with Felix Oberholzer-Gee) 9. Social and Organizational Policy 10. Work Motivation and Compensation Policy Part III Conclusions 11. Consequences for Economic Policy 12. Consequences for Economic Theory References Index
