ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies whether the description of the cognitive-developmental approach is adequate. An individualistic view of the causes of development is put forward: children construct their understanding of the complexity of economic relations through individual interactions. In fact, in spite of the authors' critical remarks on the cognitive-developmental approach, they suggest that it is in some ways compatible with the approach they put forward. Some authors have recognised that the Piagetian framework only partially fits economic conceptions, and have used it with some adjustments. Some actions observed in the play economy may easily be understood, as proposed by the authors, in the light of what occurs in everyday life. However plausible this interpretative hypothesis may be, it needs support from correlation between the data about pocket money management in real life and the use of tokens in the game.
