Axiomatic Neuroeconomics

Those of us who pursue neuroeconomic research do so in the belief that neurobiological and decision theoretic research will prove highly complementary. The hoped for complementarities rest in part on the fact that model-building and quantification are as highly valued within neuroscience as they are in economics. Yet methodological tensions remain. In particular, the ‘axiomatic’ modeling methodology that dominates economic decision theory has not made many neuroscientific converts. We argue in this chapter that neuroeconomics will achieve its full potential when such methodological differences are resolved, and in particular that axioms can and should play a central role in the development of neuroeconomics.