IS RATIONAL CHOICE THE BEST CHOICE FOR BATES,ROBERT - A REPLY

Professor Bates avoids dwelling on responding to specific points but raises a few general points arguing that his focus on the material desires of individuals is a product of the subject matter, not the method; that his theory does not require that people be selfish but might include defense of family, clan or nation; that the focus on individual decisions in his approach does not imply that people stand isolated from society; and that he does incorporate constraint and structure as an important element of his choice theoretic approach. The rest of the response shifts the grounds of the debate by raising the criteria that should be used in evaluating the utility of approaches in development studies and by pointing to important issues which should be incorporated into any future agenda within the field of development.