For financial journalist Yannis Papadogiannis, the problem with the economic science that failed to predict the financial crisis that began unfolding in 2007 is clear. While modern economic theory relies on rational humans, The Rise and Fall of Homo Economicus busts the myth of the rational human wide open, demonstrating how, in the real world, Homo sapiens are far from fully rational creatures.
Papadogiannis walks readers through the history of modern economics and reveals a consistent pattern of certainty and the illusion of control among economists leading into every crisis since the seventeenth century. He presents findings from disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology, and sociology that overturn the economist's idealized view of human nature, revealing that rationality is but one quality ruling behavior.
In terms that anyone can understand, and drawing from a vast bibliography of well-known references, the book contrasts the imaginary universe of modern economics with the complex, dynamic, chaotic reality that more accurately describes our existence.
A stinging indictment of economic science for its role in creating the crisis of 2007, The Rise and Fall of Homo Economicus is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how our society functions or exploring ways to make economic science better serve us.
Yannis Papadogiannis studied economics at the University of Piraeus in Greece. In 1994 he began working for financial magazines and newspapers as a financial journalist. He has been with the Athens newspaper Kathimerini since 1999.
In his fascinating book The Rise and Fall of Homo Economicus: The Myth of the Rational Human and the Chaotic Reality, Papadogiannis takes a detailed look at modern economic science, not only deconstructing for lay audiences the reasons why economists failed to predict the 2007 financial crisis but also showing how economic science helped create the crisis.
Yannis is also the author of The Inglorious End: The Precarious Flight, Crash-landing and Rebirth of Greek Banks (in Greek).
