Toward an Agenda for Behavioral Public Finance

Toward an Agenda for Behavioral Public Finance PDF Author: Edward J. McCaffery
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
Public finance is one of the oldest sub-fields in economics and social science, behavioral economics among the youngest. While the field of behavioral finance has received much attention, behavioral public finance has received far less. Yet the absence of any simple arbitrage mechanism in the public sphere, such as markets and competition in private domains, suggests that the effects of deviations from rationality may pervade public finance. This article surveys the potential new field of behavioral public finance and notes three broad areas for further inquiry and development: (1) the role of form and framing in the design of public finance mechanisms, (2) the significance of time inconsistency and problems of self-control in employing welfarist models of public policy and (3) alternative models of taxpayer compliance. The three areas illustrate, however tentatively, the need for researchers and policy-makers to use realistic assumptions of human judgment and decision-making in considering important questions in public finance.

Toward an Agenda for Behavioral Public Finance

Toward an Agenda for Behavioral Public Finance PDF Author: Edward J. McCaffery
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
Public finance is one of the oldest sub-fields in economics and social science, behavioral economics among the youngest. While the field of behavioral finance has received much attention, behavioral public finance has received far less. Yet the absence of any simple arbitrage mechanism in the public sphere, such as markets and competition in private domains, suggests that the effects of deviations from rationality may pervade public finance. This article surveys the potential new field of behavioral public finance and notes three broad areas for further inquiry and development: (1) the role of form and framing in the design of public finance mechanisms, (2) the significance of time inconsistency and problems of self-control in employing welfarist models of public policy and (3) alternative models of taxpayer compliance. The three areas illustrate, however tentatively, the need for researchers and policy-makers to use realistic assumptions of human judgment and decision-making in considering important questions in public finance.

Policy and Choice

Policy and Choice PDF Author: William J. Congdon
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815705018
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Traditional public finance provides a powerful framework for policy analysis, but it relies on a model of human behavior that the new science of behavioral economics increasingly calls into question. In Policy and Choice economists William Congdon, Jeffrey Kling, and Sendhil Mullainathan argue that public finance not only can incorporate many lessons of behavioral economics but also can serve as a solid foundation from which to apply insights from psychology to questions of economic policy. The authors revisit the core questions of public finance, armed with a richer perspective on human behavior. They do not merely apply findings from psychology to specific economic problems; instead, they explore how psychological factors actually reshape core concepts in public finance such as moral hazard, deadweight loss, and incentives. Part one sets the stage for integrating behavioral economics into public finance by interpreting the evidence from psychology and developing a framework for applying it to questions in public finance. In part two, the authors apply that framework to specific topics in public finance, including social insurance, externalities and public goods, income support and redistribution, and taxation. In doing so, the authors build a unified analytical approach that encompasses both traditional policy levers, such as taxes and subsidies, and more psychologically informed instruments. The net result of this innovative approach is a fully behavioral public finance, an integration of psychology and the economics of the public sector that is explicit, systematic, rigorous, and realistic.

Behavioral Public Finance

Behavioral Public Finance PDF Author: Edward J. McCaffery
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610443853
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Behavioral economics questions the basic underpinnings of economic theory, showing that people often do not act consistently in their own self-interest when making economic decisions. While these findings have important theoretical implications, they also provide a new lens for examining public policies, such as taxation, public spending, and the provision of adequate pensions. How can people be encouraged to save adequately for retirement when evidence shows that they tend to spend their money as soon as they can? Would closer monitoring of income tax returns lead to more honest taxpayers or a more distrustful, uncooperative citizenry? Behavioral Public Finance, edited by Edward McCaffery and Joel Slemrod, applies the principles of behavioral economics to government's role in constructing economic and social policies of these kinds and suggests that programs crafted with rational participants in mind may require redesign. Behavioral Public Finance looks at several facets of economic life and asks how behavioral research can increase public welfare. Deborah A. Small, George Loewenstein, and Jeff Strnad note that public support for a tax often depends not only on who bears its burdens, but also on how the tax is framed. For example, people tend to prefer corporate taxes over sales taxes, even though the cost of both is eventually extracted from the consumer. James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Andrew Metrick assess the impact of several different features of 401(k) plans on employee savings behavior. They find that when employees are automatically enrolled in a retirement savings plan, they overwhelmingly accept the status quo and continue participating, while employees without automatic enrollment typically take over a year to join the saving plan. Behavioral Public Finance also looks at taxpayer compliance. While the classic economic model suggests that the low rate of IRS audits means far fewer people should voluntarily pay their taxes than actually do, John Cullis, Philip Jones, and Alan Lewis present new research showing that many people do not underreport their incomes even when the probability of getting caught is a mere one percent. Human beings are not always rational, utility-maximizing economic agents. Behavioral economics has shown how human behavior departs from the assumptions made by generations of economists. Now, Behavioral Public Finance brings the insights of behavioral economics to analysis of policies that affect us all.

Behavioural Public Finance

Behavioural Public Finance PDF Author: M. Mustafa Erdoğdu
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351107364
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This book tackles political, social, and behavioural aspects of public finance and fiscal exchange. The book combines conventional approaches toward public finance with new developments in economics such as political governance, social and individual aspects of economic behaviour. It colligates public finance and behavioural economics and gathers original contributions within the emerging field of behavioural public finance. The book addresses public finance topics by incorporating political, social, and behavioural aspects of economic decision-making, assuming the tax relationship is shaped by three dimensions of decision-making. Thus, it aims not only to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of public finance by bringing together scholars from various disciplines but also to examine public finance through the lens of political, social, and behavioural aspects. The book scrutinizes the relationship between political institutions, governance types, and public finance; it investigates the impact of social context, social capital, and societal cooperation on public finance; it explores behavioural biases of individual fiscal preferences. This book is of interest to scholars, policymakers, tax professionals, business professionals, financers, university students, and researchers in the fields of public policy and economics.

Psychology and Behavioral Economics

Psychology and Behavioral Economics PDF Author: Kai Ruggeri
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000449971
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Psychology and Behavioral Economics offers an expert introduction to how psychology can be applied to a range of public policy areas. It examines the impact of psychological research for public policymaking in economic, financial, and consumer sectors; in education, healthcare, and the workplace; for energy and the environment; and in communications. Your energy bills show you how much you use compared to the average household in your area. Your doctor sends you a text message reminder when your appointment is coming up. Your bank gives you three choices for how much to pay off on your credit card each month. Wherever you look, there has been a rapid increase in the importance we place on understanding real human behaviors in everyday decisions, and these behavioral insights are now regularly used to influence everything from how companies recruit employees through to large-scale public policy and government regulation. But what is the actual evidence behind these tactics, and how did psychology become such a major player in economics? Answering these questions and more, this team of authors, working across both academia and government, present this fully revised and updated reworking of Behavioral Insights for Public Policy. This update covers everything from how policy was historically developed, to major research in human behavior and social psychology, to key moments that brought behavioral sciences to the forefront of public policy. Featuring over 100 empirical examples of how behavioral insights are being used to address some of the most critical challenges faced globally, the book covers key topics such as evidence-based policy, a brief history of behavioral and decision sciences, behavioral economics, and policy evaluation, all illustrated throughout with lively case studies. Including end-of-chapter questions, a glossary, and key concept boxes to aid retention, as well as a new chapter revealing the work of the Canadian government’s behavioral insights unit, this is the perfect textbook for students of psychology, economics, public health, education, and organizational sciences, as well as public policy professionals looking for fresh insight into the underlying theory and practical applications in a range of public policy areas.

Handbook of Behavioral Economics - Foundations and Applications 1

Handbook of Behavioral Economics - Foundations and Applications 1 PDF Author:
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0444633898
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 749

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Book Description
Handbook of Behavioral Economics: Foundations and Applications presents the concepts and tools of behavioral economics. Its authors are all economists who share a belief that the objective of behavioral economics is to enrich, rather than to destroy or replace, standard economics. They provide authoritative perspectives on the value to economic inquiry of insights gained from psychology. Specific chapters in this first volume cover reference-dependent preferences, asset markets, household finance, corporate finance, public economics, industrial organization, and structural behavioural economics. This Handbook provides authoritative summaries by experts in respective subfields regarding where behavioral economics has been; what it has so far accomplished; and its promise for the future. This taking-stock is just what Behavioral Economics needs at this stage of its so-far successful career. - Helps academic and non-academic economists understand recent, rapid changes in theoretical and empirical advances within behavioral economics - Designed for economists already convinced of the benefits of behavioral economics and mainstream economists who feel threatened by new developments in behavioral economics - Written for those who wish to become quickly acquainted with behavioral economics

Behavioral Public Economics

Behavioral Public Economics PDF Author: Shinji Teraji
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000456455
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Behavioral Public Economics shows how standard public economics can be improved using insights from behavioral economics. Public economics typically lists four market failures that may justify government intervention in markets—imperfect competition (or natural monopoly), externalities, public goods, and asymmetric information. Under the rational choice paradigm (‘agents choose what is best for them’), public economics has examined the welfare effects of policy. Recent research in behavioral economics highlights a fifth market failure—individuals may make mistakes in pursuing their own well-being. This book calls for a rethinking of assumptions of individual behavior and provides a good foundation for public economic theory. Key features: Introduces behavioral perspectives into public economics. Explains why economic incentives often undermine social preferences. Reveals that social incentives matter for public policy. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in public economics, behavioral economics, and public policy.

Public Finance

Public Finance PDF Author: Richard W. Tresch
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0124160336
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 535

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Book Description
Public Finance remains the premier textbook on the normative theory of government policy, with the third edition propelling into the twenty-first century its examination of what government ought to be doing instead of what it is doing. The welfare aspects of public economics receive extensively renewed examination in this third edition. With four new chapters and other significant revisions, it presents detailed and comprehensive coverage of theoretical literature, empirical work, environmental issues, social insurance, behavioral economics, and international tax issues. With increased emphasis on the European Union, it is rigid enough for use by PhDs while being accessible to students less well trained in math. - Moves skillfully from explaining normative theory to applying it in mathematically compact and precise terms - Adds new chapters on social insurance, medical care, social security pensions, behavioral public economics, and international public finance - Includes new pedagogical supplements, including end-of-chapter questions and answers - Emphasizes European examples

Behavioral Public Finance (PDF of Powerpoint Slide Presentation).

Behavioral Public Finance (PDF of Powerpoint Slide Presentation). PDF Author: Edward J. McCaffery
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The task is to give an overview of what I hope to be an emerging field of behavioral public finance. Behavioral finance, as per Barberis and Thaler 2003 (and others), consists of two parts: (1) individual level heuristics and biases, which can lead to sub-optimal (inconsistent) judgment and decision-making, and (2) institutional arbitrage mechanisms. In private finance and economics, these latter, most importantly competition and markets, act to reduce and perhaps eliminate the harms from the former. Hence we get the relatively modest policy recommendations characteristic of Sunstien and Thaler's Nudge (among many other examples), such as for default rules that set participation in 401(k) plans. In public finance, in contrast - and arguably in all sectors of the economy where there are not flourishing markets (such as among the poor?) - there are no obvious arbitrage mechanisms. Politicians and the political processes can even exacerbate persistent cognitive error: consider the predilection for hidden taxes, such as the corporate tax. Behavioral public finance is a hugely important subject matter. These slides, summarizing original research done with Jon Baron of Penn (see the survey piece, McCaffery and Baron 2006), explain the general setting; group together many biases under a common isolation effect, and then use Kaplow and Shavell 2002's model of optimal legal system design, tracking the two welfare theorems - i.e., set rules (including, we argue, public finance rules), so as to maximize wealth or serve efficiency, and then redistribute from the greater social pie via the tax system - to suggest the possible problems for a democracy. These include: (a), leaving wealth on the table, because the optimally psychologically pleasing policy is not the most efficient one; (b) pitting equity or redistribution against efficiency, unnecessarily, because support for redistribution depends on the purely formal aspects of public finance; and (c) allowing skillful politicians to affect preference reversals among the citizenry, by agenda setting and framing, as by getting citizens averse to deficits and in favor of government expenditures to cut taxes, today, by isolating tax cuts from spending programs.

Public Finance and Public Behavior

Public Finance and Public Behavior PDF Author: Michael R. Donohue
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Finance, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description