Article
The unsolved Hayekian knowledge problem in behavioral economics
Behavioural Public Policy
(2021)
Abstract
Sunstein’s latest work aims to persuade the reader that knowledge problems pose no great barrier to behavioral policymaking. However, he has not yet addressed the knowledge problems we have presented in the past (and that we recapitulate here). The mechanisms he suggests that behavioral planners can use to acquire the neces- sary knowledge do not pass muster. At best, they access some specific knowledge about particular types of individuals under particular circumstances, without the necessary breadth and depth needed to generalize the results to a heterogeneous population. Without such comprehensive and centralized knowledge, we cannot pre- dict that proposed interventions will indeed improve upon the decisions that people make for themselves on the basis of their own local and tacit knowledge.
Keywords
- true preferences,
- biases,
- behavioral economics,
- paternalism
Disciplines
Publication Date
2021
DOI
doi:10.1017/bpp.2021.18
Citation Information
Mario J Rizzo and Glen Whitman. "The unsolved Hayekian knowledge problem in behavioral economics" Behavioural Public Policy Vol. 5 (2021) ISSN: 2398-0648 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/mario_rizzo/66/