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Showing posts from January, 2019

Habitual Assumptions in "Institutional Economics"

Habitual Assumptions Habitual assumptions are an important component of the reasonable value model that Commons is trying to build. It is focused in section V of the Reasonable Value chapter of Institutional Economics from pages 697 to 719 and the idea appears later in different parts of that chapter as well. Habitual assumptions was defined by Commons as "when one has acquired ways of looking at things when making one's decisions, choosing ones alternatives and dealing with others in ones transactions" (pg. 697).  Commons cites favorably in this section a book by E. Jordan called "Forms of Individuality".  Jordan talks about the "institutionalized mind".  This means how a persons mind is shaped by the customs and traditions of the place or "going concern"that they are embedded in.  Thus, Commons has introduced the terms habitual assumptions and institionalized mind.  In terms of analytical approaches, Commons writes that, "social ...