Genoeconomics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Genoeconomics is an interdisciplinary field of protoscience that aims to combine molecular genetics and economics.[1]
Genoeconomics is based on the idea that economic indicators have a genetic basis — that a person's financial behaviour can be traced to their DNA and that genes are related to economic behaviour. As of 2023, the results have been inconclusive. Some minor correlations may have been identified between genetics and economic preferences.[2]
The word genoeconomics was coined in 2007.[3]
The field of economics and the economic indicators used by economists predate the Empiricist Age.[4] Genoeconomics adds biological foundations to these traditional economic indicators.[4]
Quantitative genetic data was not available to researchers until the year 2000, when the human genome was sequenced as part of the Human Genome Project.[3] Genetic milestones of the late 20th and early 21st century, such as the sequencing of the human genome, has spurred interest in research combining economics and genetics.[citation needed]
Background
Genoeconomics involves the study of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).[3] The field of genoeconomics uses genetic data to infer economic preferences such as time preference, risk aversion, and educational attainment,[3] as well as macroeconomic data such as per-capita income.[5] For example, genoeconomic methodology was used in a 2012 study of tobacco taxes in the United States, where such taxes vary across jurisdictions, to look at "the interaction of a single nicotinic receptor and state-level tobacco taxes to predict tobacco use".[3] Additionally, genoeconomic research in 2013 found that two-fifths of the "variance of educational attainment is explained by genetic factors".[6]
Some genoeconomic researchers claim that the economic success of a country can be predicted by its genetic diversity.[5] The American economist Enrico Spolaore says that genoeconomic work could "reduce barriers to the flows of ideas and innovations across populations".[5]