The models of economic choice theory: a paradigm for non-economists

The ultimate goal of social science is to explain individual and group behavior within given institutional constraints. In practice this means developing models which effectively describe and predict human behavior. Recent experience has shown a particular approach to modeling individual behavior to be especially useful. The approach in question has been developed by economists and consists of using the analytical structure of utility theory to focus attention on the determinants of individual choice and then analyzing the responsiveness of individual choices to changes in these determinants. The success of model building in this format is evidenced by the fact that a major portion of microeconomic theory is now known as choice theory