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(Correspondent: Wang Tianjian) Recently, the paper "Behavioral Economics from the Perspective of Historical Materialism", co-authored by Associate Professor Na Yi and Professor He Jingtong, was reprinted in top journal Xinhua Digest, No.20, 2021. The paper was originally published in Nankai Journal (Philosophy, Literature and Social Science Edition), No.3, 2021.

From the standpoint and view of Marxism philosophy, especially historical materialism, the paper dialectically analyzes and appraises the academic significance of behavioral economics towards current mainstream western economics. It is pointed out in the paper that: the rise and development of behavioral economics is an important evolutionary feature of mainstream economics in recent decades. This process reflects that the changes in economic life and production practices present new challenges and requirements for the applicability of economic theories. It also reflects that the frontier development of natural sciences, such psychology, cognitive science and neuroscience, provides new theories and methods for self-correction and the reconstruction of economics theories. It also profoundly reflects the unity of opposites that social existence determines social consciousness and social consciousness reacts on social existence. Therefore, when criticizing, absorbing and making use of western economics, we should consider the connotation and extension of its core theories from a dynamic view, as well as the usefulness of its frontier scientific elements for the research and policy practice of Chinese economic issues, rather than rigidly regarding them as invariable theories. Based on above, the paper deeply discusses on how its viewpoints can be applied to assist China’s current goals of promoting the transformation of government functions and giving full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources.

Founded in 1979, Xinhua Digest is in the charge of National Press and Publication Administration and People’s Publishing House. It is one of China’s top-class journal of digest with large-sized coverage of comprehensive knowledge and academic research, which is known as the “small encyclopedia” that interprets the frontier theories and thoughts of Chinese scholars and reflects the condition of Chinese social science research. The articles included in it are considered to be the frontiers in their respective fields of research.