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Whither Behavioral Economics?
Jan. 12th, 2012 08:35 amIMO, behavioral economics has been justifying its existence to itself and to other economists by thinking too much in terms of individual motivations and behavior—on the intersection of economics and psychology. That's a necessary birthing process because the field of economics as a whole has come to think only in terms of individuals and whole societies. I can't be sure that's true, but it's sure what comes across in congressional testimony, interviews, and popular writing.
But once they can take for granted that these motivations and behaviors that aren't measured by conventional economists do indeed exist, they have more fertile ground to tend to: how the structures within society shape these motivations and therefore economic behavior. In other words, the intersection of economics and sociology.
Sociology is a field where it's hard to do really good experiments. Because of that, IMO, it's academic community has gotten out of the habit of even doing the best experiments it can and using rigorous analysis. But the field was created to view the world through a framework that remains vital to understanding how our world works and how what we do can and will change it. Cross-pollination with a young field full of eager experimenters should do both fields a lot of good.
But once they can take for granted that these motivations and behaviors that aren't measured by conventional economists do indeed exist, they have more fertile ground to tend to: how the structures within society shape these motivations and therefore economic behavior. In other words, the intersection of economics and sociology.
Sociology is a field where it's hard to do really good experiments. Because of that, IMO, it's academic community has gotten out of the habit of even doing the best experiments it can and using rigorous analysis. But the field was created to view the world through a framework that remains vital to understanding how our world works and how what we do can and will change it. Cross-pollination with a young field full of eager experimenters should do both fields a lot of good.
