Motivational Economics the Need of Modern Times

Economics is concerned with production and distribution of goods and services ensuring equitable distribution and welfare of all people. The importance of the subject is realized by all economies and world financing and development agencies. The greatness of the subject in promoting human welfare is recognised and Nobel Prize has been instituted in the last half century. Yet there is dissatisfaction among economists, administrators and sections of people over the ineffective manner in which resources are utilized and the prevalence of pockets of poverty with wide disparity in income distribution.

We have come a long way from the days of Adam Smith, passing through the days of Keynesian economics and drawing richly from Welfare economics. But theories and techniques prove to be inadequate to meet the epic challenge of the modern world of rising expectations. A solution cannot be considered satisfactory merely in terms of increasing production and national wealth. The most effective means of distribution and to tackle global poverty have to be designed.

Though the importance of the human resource has gained recognition, it has not been utilized to its maximum potential.Refinements of this resource have been taken up in detail under the categories entrepreneurship, and leadership. But even here we are stuck when it comes to poverty alleviation and income distribution. It forces us to think in terms of further refinements in the use of resources and to discover untapped sources.

It is here a penetrating intellect can find a lead towards solution though it may not be perfect and of immediate benefit. In the absence of alternatives we have to give it a trial and make a beginning. It is in the area of motivation. The human being, a critical resource, has to be motivated to excel his performance with available and other accessible tools which are least costly. When we talk of economics the tool we can develop is motivational economics.