Working Paper: NBER ID: w11518
Authors: B. Douglas Bernheim; Antonio Rangel
Abstract: This paper has two goals. First, we discuss several emerging approaches to applied welfare analysis under non-standard ("behavioral") assumptions concerning consumer choice. This provides a foundation for Behavioral Public Economics. Second, we illustrate applications of these approaches by surveying behavioral studies of policy problems involving saving, addiction, and public goods. We argue that the literature on behavioral public economics, though in its infancy, has already fundamentally changed our understanding of public policy in each of these domains.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D0; D1; D6; D9; H0; H1; H4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| nonstandard consumer behavior (D19) | public policy outcomes (J18) |
| decision-making malfunctions (D91) | preference divergence (D11) |
| preference divergence (D11) | welfare analysis (D69) |
| self-destructive behaviors (D91) | overall welfare (I31) |
| behavioral anomalies (D91) | policy evaluation (H43) |