Behavioural Economics
The Poll
In a first for the National Economic Panel, we are seeking panellist opinions in two parts:
Question Part 1: 'Behavioural economics provides new and useful insights into individual behaviour.'
Question Part 2: 'It is unethical for governments to use behavioural economics to "nudge" citizens.'
Overview of Poll by Professor Lionel Page
The coming of age of behavioural economics
Just 15 years ago, as I was starting my PhD, behavioural economics was an area on the fringe of the economics discipline. At that time the words "but you are assuming that agents are irrational" were uttered to discourage curious PhD students from venturing away from the axiomatic canons of the mainstream. The behavioural revolution was already under way though. The award of the 2002 Nobel Prize became a critical milestone conferring a lot of academic respectability to behavioural economics. Since then, its importance and impact have grown very rapidly. In 2016, both the most recent Presidents of the American Economic Association are behavioural economists, and in the USA, UK and now Australia, governments are looking to harness insights from behavioural economics when designing policies. Read More
