Arguing About Tastes

David M. Kreps is the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management and Economics Emeritus at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a leading economic theorist whose contributions span areas including choice theory, financial markets, and game theory. Among his many books are Game Theory and Economic Modeling (1990), Microeconomics for Managers (second edition, 2019), and Microeconomic Foundations I and II (2012, 2023). Kreps has received honors including the John Bates Clark Medal, the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science, the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics, and the CME Group–MSRI Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications.Alessandra Casella is professor of economics and political science at Columbia University, where she codirects the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy.Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University and a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

• PrefaceIntroduction: Gary Becker on Prenups1. De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum: The Mainstream Economic Account of Individual Behavior2. Intrinsic Motivation3. Internalizing the Welfare of Specific Others4. Two (or Three) Heterodox Books5. Choice, Preference, And Utility in Dynamic Contexts6. Some (Social) Psychology: Self-Perception and Attribution Theories7. Intrinsic Motivation Undermined by Extrinsic Rewards?8. Why Are “Social Promises” Unsecured?9. The Quality of Kreps’s Performance Matters as Well10. Intrinsic Motivation to Do What, Exactly?11. Internalization of the Other Party’s Welfare12. Dynamics Based on Bem’s Self-Perception Theory13. Should Economists Move in These Directions?Commentary, Joseph E. StiglitzCommentary, Alessandra CasellaResponse to the Comments Of Professors Stiglitz and CasellaAppendixNotesReferencesIndex

David Kreps’ Arguing About Tastes masterfully delves into the concept of endogeneity of tastes. He takes his readers on an insightful journey that challenges conventional wisdom with refreshing perspective on the dynamic forces that shape our choices.