科学革命视野下的行为经济学:革命性意涵与改良主义发展策略

Reexamination of Behavioral Economics from the View of Scientific Revolutions: Revolutionary Implications and Reformist Strategy

行为经济学的兴起是当代经济学中的重要事件。但是,学术界对于行为经济学与传统新古典理论之间的关系,及其是如何影响、塑造经济学的未来格局的,存在着认识分歧。本文基于科学革命的视角重新考察了行为经济学的学术贡献和发展历程,阐明行为经济学如何发起了新的经济学革命,但由于没能提供具有竞争力的替代性范式,尚不具备推动革命成功的条件。早期行为经济学学者试图摒弃、取代新古典理论,遭到强烈抵制和刻意忽略。现代行为经济学家选择了改良主义发展策略,开辟了新的发展空间,在促成学科兴起的同时,放弃了通过范式转换实现经济学更新换代的机会。这或许是新的经济学革命必须经过的曲折历程,而行为经济学的下一步发展仍是决定经济学未来的关键变量。

The rise of behavioral economics constitutes a significant event in modern economics.However,different opinions appear in literatures on its relationship with,and future impact on traditional new classical economics.Based on the perspective of scientific revolutions,this thesis reexamines the scientific contribution and developing process of behavioral economics,and elucidates that behavioral economists initiated a new economics revolution,which is destined to fail for lacking of a competitive alternative paradigm.Old behavioral economists,who intended to deny and replace new classical economics,encountered intense boycott and neglect from the mainstream economics community.New behavioral economists broke a new path by employing a reformist strategy,as claiming to be necessary supplement or frontier extension.This leads to the rise of behavioral economics,with the price of missing the opportunity of upgrading economics through paradigm shifting.This could be seen as revealing the arduous and tortuous course of the new economics revolution.And the development of behavioral economics will still determine the future of economics discipline.