An economic person is a brief characteristic. Model of an economic person

The economic behavior of the individual andgroups of people in the market creates demand. For the financial result of the seller, it is very important to foresee the volume of demand in the future and to determine the list of the main factors that may affect it. That is why it is necessary to understand the concept of “model of economic man” and, having connected to the economic one more psychological and social aspects, begin to use this knowledge in practice. They are relevant both for enterprises acting on the market from the supply side, and for ordinary people, who together provide market demand.

"Homo" -modeling or who we are?

Economists have long wondered howthe person makes choices, how he is guided and how he ranks his priorities. With the development of market relations, man himself has evolved. Recall the known species "homo".

Human models in terms of biology or Homo biologicus:

• Homo habilis or a skilled person, learned how to make fire and create means of labor;
• Homo erectus or erect man, stood on both legs, freeing his hands;
• Homo sapiens or a reasonable person, has acquired the ability of articulate speech and substandard thinking.

The evolution of people from the standpoint of the type of activity and causal being eventful, or Homo eventus:

• Homo economicus or an economic person who is guided in his behavior by aspects of rationality and the achievement of the greatest possible benefit in the context of limited economic resources;
• Homo sociologicus or a social person, striving to communicate with other people and assert his role in society;
• Homo politicus or a political person who is motivated to strengthen his authority and achieve power with the help of state institutions;
• Homo religiosus or a religious person, defining support in his life and the main motive "by the word of God" and the support of higher powers.

Brief description of the simplifiedmodels of event type shows the system of human priorities and explains the motives of his behavior in a particular environment - economic, political, social, religious. Each specific individual can be a “different” person depending on the coordinate system, that is, the environment in which he acts and is identified.

It is interesting to compare the first two event models.people: an economic person is individual, social is too collective and dependent on society. The world adjusts to the needs of an economic person, which is reflected in the law of supply and demand, and the social person adapts himself to the social tendencies of the world in order to avoid his separation from the crowd.

Rationality as the basis of profitability

Modeling involves a certain system of assumptions, so a person in economic relations has rationality, that is able to make the right decision in the proposed conditions. The following factors affect human rationality:

• availability of information on prices and production volumes;
• human awareness of the basic parameters of choice;
• high level of intelligence and sufficient competence of a person in matters of making an economic choice;
• a person makes decisions in perfect competition.

The ratio of the above assumptions leads to the fact that rationality can be of three types:

1. Full, which involves a comprehensive awareness of the person about the state of the market and his ability to make a decision, having received the maximum benefit at the lowest cost.
2. Limitedwhich implies the absence of a completeinformation and insufficient level of human competence, as a result, he seeks not to maximize the benefits, but simply to meet the immediate needs in acceptable ways.
3. Organic rationality complicates the economic modelrights through the introduction of additional variables that affect their behavior: legal prohibitions, traditional and cultural restrictions, social parameters of choice.

Ideas about man as rationalsubject with their needs and motives, evolved along with economic schools. Currently, there are four main models of man. They differ:

1. The degree of abstraction from the diversity of social, psychological, cultural and other aspects of a person’s personality.
2. Features of the environment, that is, the economic and political situation around the person.

I. Model of economic man - materialist

The concept of "Homo economicus" was first introduced inXVIII century as part of the teachings of the English classical school, and later it migrated to the teachings of marginalists and neo-classics. The essence of the model lies in the fact that a person seeks to maximize for himself the utility of acquired goods within limited resources, the main of which is his income. Thus, in the center of the model are the money and the desire of the individual to enrich. An economic person is able to appreciate all the benefits, assigning each a value and usefulness to himself, because when choosing, he is guided only by his own interests, remaining indifferent to the needs of other people.

In this model, the invisibleA. Smith’s market’s hand. People in their activities proceed solely from their own interests: the consumer seeks to purchase the highest quality goods, and the manufacturer - to offer the market such goods to meet demand and get the greatest profit. common good.

Ii. Model of economic man - materialist with limited rationality

Followers of the ideas of J.M. Keynes, as well as institutionalism, allowed the fact that not only the desire for material wealth, but also a number of socio-psychological factors influenced human behavior. A brief description of the first model suggests that a person is at the base levels of the A. Maslow's pyramid of needs. The second model moves a person to higher levels, leaving priority to the material side of being.

To maintain this model of a person in an equilibrium state requires adequate intervention from the state.

III. Model of economic man - collectivist

In the system of paternalism, where the state takes onthe role of the shepherd itself, automatically shifting the people to the position of the flock of sheep, and the economic man is changing. His choice is no longer limited to internal factors, but to external conditions. The state decides the fate of a person, sending him to study by distribution, attaching to a specific workplace, offering only specific goods and services. The lack of competition and personal interest in the results of labor leads to the emergence of bad faith, dependent moods and the forced stay of a person at the lower levels of the pyramid of needs, when you have to be content with little and not strive for the best.

Iv. Model of an economic man - an idealist

In this model, there is a feelingeconomic man: the concepts of rationality and benefits for him are refracted through the prism of higher spiritual needs. As a result, it may be more important for an individual, not wages, but the degree of satisfaction with his work, the importance of his work for society, the complexity of work and the level of self-esteem.

The fundamental difference from previous modelsallows us to say that a new economic man has appeared, equally thinking and feeling, distributing priorities in accordance with his internal state.

Here the individual has a full range.needs from basic physical to higher spiritual, the most important of which is the need for self-realization. A person is a complex model, his behavior depends on many factors that can be predicted only with a certain degree of error.

Psychological aspects of the behavior of an economic person

All economic problems of the person are connected withchoice in conditions of limited resources. And this choice is greatly influenced by psychological factors. If you again refer to the above-mentioned pyramid of needs, you can see what the role of intangible factors in human behavior. The pyramid includes the following levels:

• First (basic) - physiological needs for housing, food and drink, sexual satisfaction, rest;
• Second - the need for security on the physiological and psychological plan, the confidence that the basic needs in the future will be met;
• The third - social needs: to harmoniously exist in society, to be involved in any social group of people;
• Fourth - the need for respect, success, separation from society on the basis of competence;
• Fifth - the need for knowledge, the study of new and the application of knowledge in practice;
• Sixth - aesthetic needs in harmony, beauty and order;
• Seventh - the need for self-expression, the full realization of their abilities and capabilities.

Man and society

The manifestation of the social component in the behaviorrights can significantly affect the economy, breaking the usual ideas about the interaction of supply and demand. For example, such a phenomenon as fashion involves the removal of certain trend goods in the higher price range, distorting the ratio of price and quality.

Luxury goods are always in demand, butthe purpose of acquiring this category of goods is not to meet vital needs, but to maintain the status of an individual, to increase its self-esteem.

Man is a social subject, therefore alwaysacts in accordance with or contrary to the opinion of others. Therefore, a socio-economic person has appeared in the modern world, who also makes a choice in conditions of limited resources, but with an eye to his psychological needs and the reaction of society.

The manifestation of "economic man" in modern people

Consider the example of an economic person, having solved a household task.

A task: Suppose economist Ivanov earns 100rub. at one o'clock. If you buy fruit in the market for 80 rubles. per kilogram, you need to spend an hour to go around the market, choose the best product and defend in line. The store sells fruits of good quality and without queues, but at a price of 120 rubles. per kilogram.

Question: With what volume of purchases it is advisable for Ivanov to go to the market?

Decision: Ivanov has an alternative cost of hisof time. If he spends it on work in the office, he will receive 100 rubles. That is, in order to rationally spend this hour on a hike in the market, saving on the price difference should be at least 100 rubles. Therefore, having expressed the purchase volume through X, the hollow value of the fruit sold on the market will be:

80X + 100 <120X

40X> 100

X> 2.5 kg.

Conclusion: Economist Ivanov is rational to buy cheaper fruit on the market in an amount exceeding 2.5 kg. If you need a smaller amount of fruit, then it is more rational to buy them in the store.

The modern economic man is rational, heintuitively or consciously assigns a certain price to everything and chooses from the alternative options the one that suits him the most. At the same time he is guided by all possible factors: monetary, social, psychological, cultural, etc.

So economic man ...

We highlight the main characteristics inherent in the modern economic man (EC):

1. Resourcesthat are always at the disposal of EC are limitedwhile some are renewable and others are not. Resources include:

• natural;
• material;
• labor;
• temporary;
• informational.

2. The ECH always makes a choice in a straight-line coordinate system with two variables: preferences and restrictions. Preferences are based on needsrights, aspirations and desires, and the limitations are based on the amount of resources available to the individual. Interestingly, as opportunities grow, human needs also rise.

3. Ech sees alternative choices, able to evaluate and compare them among themselves.

4. When choosing ECH guided by exclusively by their interests, but members can enter his zone of influencefamilies, friends, close people, whose interests will be perceived by a person almost equal to his own. His interests can be formed under the influence of a variety of factors, not only material.

5. The interaction between each other socio-economic people with their interests takes the form exchange.

6. The choice of ECh is always rationalbut due to limited resources, including informational, an individual chooses from the alternatives he knows which one is most preferable for him.

7. ECH may be wrongbut his slips are random.

The study of the economic man, his motives foraction, its value system and preferences, as well as restrictions on the choice will allow you to better understand yourself as a full subject of socio-economic relations. The main thing is that people become a little more competent in economic matters and make fewer mistakes, systematically improving the quality of life.