Book
The goal of this book is to summarize and introduce the reader to the notion that certain physical laws and physiological concepts may prove useful in explaining both microeconomic and macroeconomic behaviors, especially as these might vary from country to country.
Starting from the fact that humans are homeotherms by nature, this book mostly considers the effects of heat transfer, or thermodynamics, and the workings of the hypothalamus on certain economic fundamentals: utility and consumption. The research presented here indicates that individual utility systematically varies from one country to another as predicted by models of physics-based physiology.
Enough empirical research from a variety of disciplines appears to confirm this finding so as to merit more general attention. This observation will be of most relevance to persons interested in understanding why long-run economic growth and behavior across countries will remain divergent. Poverty measurement and policy implications make this idea topical.
Faculty
Professor of Marketing
