Identity Economics Quotes

“We discussed the focus on identity: how people think they and others should behave; how society teaches them how to behave; and how people are motivated by these views, sometimes to the point of being willing to die for them.”
― George A. Akerlof, Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being

“Such interplay of tastes and norms lies at the heart of this book. The merry-go-round illustrates a general point. When people are doing what they think they should be doing, they are happy, like the four- and five-year-olds. But those who are not living up to the norms that they (and others) have set for themselves, like the older children, are unhappy. They then change their decisions to meet their standards.”
― George A. Akerlof, Identity Economics: How Our Identities Shape Our Work, Wages, and Well-Being