Introduction: Symposium on Escaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics and Public Policy by Mario J. Rizzo and Glen Whitman

Psychology , Behavioral Economics , and Public Policy

Economics has typically been the social science of choice to inform public policy and policymakers. In the current paper we contemplate the role behavioral science can play in enlightening policymakers. In particular, we provide some examples of research that has and can be used to inform policy, reflect on the kind of behavioral science that is important for policy, and approaches for convinci...

Behavioral economics and empirical public policy.

The application of economics principles to the analysis of behavior has yielded novel insights on value and choice across contexts ranging from laboratory animal research to clinical populations to national trends of global impact. Recent innovations in demand curve methods provide a credible means of quantitatively comparing qualitatively different reinforcers as well as quantifying the choice...

Symposium on Rationality and Commitment: Introduction

New on Paternalism and Public Policy

Bill New's (1999) thoughtful paper has performed the valuable service of clarifying the meaning and the policy implications of paternalism. His careful formulation delimits the domain of justified state paternalism. Having argued successfully, in our view, for a narrow ambit, New proceeds to identify situations that justify paternalism. This comment is written in the spirit of a friendly reform...

Investigating the Rationality of Behavioral Economics in Mental Accounting by ‎Studying Laboratory Economics

The purpose of this study is to investigate the rationality of behavioral economics in mental accounting by studying laboratory economics. Undoubtedly, economic man, whose fundamental characteristic is rationality, is the starting point for economic analysis. In conventional economics, the premise of rationality is the cornerstone and the premise of all economic theories. However, critics of ec...