Economía conductual y microempresas en países en desarrollo

Abstract

This paper offers a brief review of recent literature on behavioral economics with a focus on developing countries. After reviewing the main differences between homo economicus and homo sapiens, I focus on the literature that studies how the permanent feeling of vulnerability induced by poverty reduces cognitive capacity. Next, I review studies that analyze how cognitive biases, social preferences and limited cognitive capacity pass-through to the performance of microenterprises, which constitute a major income source among poor households in low-income countries.