what is rational choice theory 
the key premise of rational choice theory is that people don t randomly select products off the shelf rather they use a logical decision making process that takes into account the costs and benefits of various options weighing the options against each other who founded rational choice theory adam smith who proposed the idea of an invisible hand moving free market economies in the mid 1770s is usually credited as the father of rational choice theory smith discusses the invisible hand theory in his book an inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations which was published in 1776 21