Behavioral Economics Commons^™

Behavioral Economics Y Políticas Públicas: Algunos Problemas Y Sus Soluciones / Behavioral Economics And Public Policies: Some Problems And Their Solutions [En Español], Daniel A. Monroy

Daniel A Monroy C

Abstract

The main target of this paper is to show a behavioral economics approach to –some– public policies from a descriptive and a normative point of view. To meet the target, (i) the paper summarizes two cognitive biases: the status quo bias and the endowment effect, and then shows how these biases could affect the effectiveness of public policies in some relevant contexts: the availability of human organs for transplantation; people's bad eating habits; and environmental resources management. In addition, (ii) the paper suggests some strategies (nudges) about how behavioral economics could inform policy maker to design or to improve …

The Problematic Welfare Standards Of Behavioral Paternalism, Douglas Glen Whitman, Mario J. Rizzo

Mario Rizzo

Behavioral paternalism raises deep concerns that do not arise in traditional welfare economics. These concerns stem from behavioral paternalism’s acceptance of the defining axioms of neoclassical rationality for normative purposes, despite having rejected them as positive descriptions of reality. We argue (1) that behavioral paternalists have indeed accepted neoclassical rationality axioms as a welfare standard; (2) that economists historically adopted these axioms not for their normative plausibility, but for their usefulness in formal and theoretical modeling; (3) that broadly rational individuals might fail to satisfy the axioms for various reasons, making them unpersuasive as normative criteria; and (4) that even …