Question

Just as "perfect competition" may be more of an ideal than a description of an actual market, so to the idea of "economic man", who always acts with rational self-interest. Please follow the above link and respond to an article that discusses the rise of behavioral economics as a relatively new field of study in the last 30 years. "Economic Man makes logical, rational, self-interested decisions that weigh costs against benefits and maximize value and profit to himself. Economic Man is an intelligent, analytic, selfish creature who has perfect self-regulation in pursuit of his future goals and is unswayed by bodily states and feelings. And Economic Man is a marvelously convenient pawn for building academic theories. But Economic Man has one fatal flaw: he does not exist."

Answer 1

Just like perfect competition, economic man may not exist, but there is a buying decision process that is based on logical thinking, marginal benefit and cost and evaluation of different alternative. The buying decision process is influenced by the family members, friends, office colleagues and other known person. It brings a behavioral aspect to the decision making process, and it only happens because human beings are social in nature. So, there is an existence of economic man in the core, but being a social person, it also considers the views of others and looses the concept of economic man. Further, behavioral economics brings emotions, sentiments and feelings in the decision making process. But, it comes when a person observes and evaluates that it can bring benefits. Not getting the results while sticking with the emotions & sentiments, the person ditches the behavioral approach and goes back to the rational and logical thinking, albeit with action that is not harmful to the society. Hence, economic man is not exhibited, but it can be reflected in the decision making process.