Herbert A. Simon and the concept of rationality: Boundaries and procedures

This paper discusses Herbert A. Simon’s conception of rationality in two of its principal general definitions: bounded rationality and procedural rationality. It argues that the latter is the one that better synthesizes the author’s view about rational behavior and that the former fills mainly a cri...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Barros, Gustavo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2010
Country:Brasil
Institution:EDITORA 34
Repository:Revista de Economia Política
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs2.centrodeeconomiapolitica.org:article/453
Online Access:https://centrodeeconomiapolitica.org.br/repojs/index.php/journal/article/view/453
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Herbert A. Simon
racionalidade limitada
racionalidade processual
bounded rationality
procedural rationality
Description
Summary:This paper discusses Herbert A. Simon’s conception of rationality in two of its principal general definitions: bounded rationality and procedural rationality. It argues that the latter is the one that better synthesizes the author’s view about rational behavior and that the former fills mainly a critical function. They are complementarily used by Simon in this sense. In spite of that, it is argued that it is the low degree of specificity of the concept of bounded rationality one of the reasons for its relatively greater success. JEL Classification: D01; B31; B52.