ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author attempts to lay more realistic micro-foundations for analyzing a wide array of public policy questions. This alternative theoretical infrastructure subsumes the mainstream neoclassical worldview along with its related analytical predictions and their implications for public policy. There is no economic imperative embodied in the analytical framework that yields either an x-efficient or x-inefficient and correlated higher low-wage solution to the productivity problem. A critical point that stems from the theory is that individuals can make choices that determine the level of material well-being in society and that such choices are not completely constrained even under conditions of perfect product market competition. The chapter focuses on the more traditional definition of culture in terms of norms and social context and their effect on the choices made by economic agents in the workplace.
