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The economics of cognitive institutions: mapping debates, looking ahead

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2024

Daniil Frolov Open the ORCID record for Daniil Frolov [Opens in a new window]
Daniil Frolov*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Economics and Management, Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd, Russia
*
Email: ecodev@mail.ru
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Abstract

In the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, there is a pronounced paradigm shift associated with the transition from internalism to externalism. The externalist paradigm views cognitive processes as not isolated in the brain, but as interrelated with external artefacts and structures. The paper focuses on one of the leading externalist approaches – extended cognition. Despite the dominance of internalism in economics, in its main schools, there is an emerging trend towards extended cognition ideas. In my opinion, economists might develop the most advanced version of the extended cognition approach: socially extended cognition based on cognitive institutions. This paper analyses extended cognition ideas in institutional, Austrian, and behavioural economics and identifies numerous overlapping approaches and complementary research areas. I argue that the economics of cognitive institutions is a promising field for all economic schools and propose a preliminary research agenda.

Keywords

agencyAustrian economicsbehavioural economicscognitive institutionsco-productionextended cognitioninstitutional economicsnudgesrationality

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Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Institutional Economics , Volume 20 , 2024 , e28
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Millennium Economics Ltd.

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