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What Motivates Paternalism? An Experimental Study

Author

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  • Sandro Ambuehl
  • B. Douglas Bernheim
  • Axel Ockenfels

Abstract

We study experimentally when, why, and how people intervene in others' choices. Choice Architects (CAs) construct opportunity sets containing bundles of time-indexed payments for Choosers. CAs frequently prevent impatient choices despite opportunities to provide advice, believing Choosers benefit. They violate common behavioral welfare criteria by removing impatient options even when all pay-offs are delayed. CAs intervene not by removing options they wish they could resist when choosing for themselves (mistakes-projective paternalism), but rather as if they seek to align others' choices with their own aspirations (ideals-projective paternalism). Laboratory choices predict subjects' support for actual paternalistic policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandro Ambuehl & B. Douglas Bernheim & Axel Ockenfels, 2021. "What Motivates Paternalism? An Experimental Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(3), pages 787-830, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:111:y:2021:i:3:p:787-830
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20191039
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Björn Bartling & Alexander W. Cappelen & Henning Hermes & Marit Skivenes & Bertil Tungodden, 2023. "Free to fail? Paternalistic preferences in the United States," ECON - Working Papers 436, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    2. Carlsson, Fredrik & Johansson-Stenman, Olof & Kataria, Mitesh, 2024. "How Much Liberty Should We Have? Citizens versus Experts on Regulating Externalities and Internalities," Working Papers in Economics 841, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    3. Sandro Ambuehl & Sebastian Blesse & Philipp Doerrenberg & Christoph Feldhaus & Axel Ockenfels, 2023. "Politicians' Social Welfare Criteria: An Experiment with German Legislators," CESifo Working Paper Series 10329, CESifo.
    4. Chloe Tergiman & Marie Claire Villeval, 2023. "The Way People Lie in Markets: Detectable vs. Deniable Lies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(6), pages 3340-3357, June.
    5. Clareta Treger, 2023. "When do people accept government paternalism? Theory and experimental evidence," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 195-214, January.
    6. Leonardo Bursztyn, 2023. "When Product Markets Become Collective Traps: The Case of Social Media," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 260, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    7. Gagnon-Bartsch, Tristan & Rosato, Antonio, 2022. "Quality is in the eye of the beholder: taste projection in markets with observational learning," MPRA Paper 115426, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Freundt, Jana & Herz, Holger & KOPP, leander, 2023. "Intrinsic Preferences for Autonomy," FSES Working Papers 530, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    9. Cappelen, Alexander W. & Meissner, Stefan & Tungodden, Bertil, 2023. "Cancel the deal? An experimental study on the exploitation of irrational consumers," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 6/2023, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    10. Olckers, Matthew, 2021. "On track for retirement?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 76-88.
    11. Leonardo Bursztyn & Benjamin R. Handel & Rafael Jimenez & Christopher Roth, 2023. "When Product Markets Become Collective Traps: The Case of Social Media," NBER Working Papers 31771, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Axel Ockenfels & Alvin Roth, 2023. "Consequences of Unpaid Blood Plasma Donations," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 055, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    13. Ambuehl, Sandro & Blesse, Sebastian & Doerrenberg, Philipp & Feldhaus, Christoph & Ockenfels, Axel, 2023. "Politicians' social welfare criteria - An experiment with German legislators," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-013, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Sandro Ambuehl & B. Douglas Bernheim, 2021. "Interpreting the will of the people: social preferences over ordinal outcomes," ECON - Working Papers 395, Department of Economics - University of Zurich, revised Jan 2024.
    15. Ackfeld, Viola & Ockenfels, Axel, 2021. "Do people intervene to make others behave prosocially?," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 58-72.
    16. Karen Evelyn Hauge & Snorre Kverndokk & Andreas Lange, 2021. "Why People Oppose Trade Institutions - On Morality, Fairness and Risky Actions," CESifo Working Paper Series 9456, CESifo.
    17. Eugen Dimant & Tobias Gesche, 2021. "Nudging Enforcers: How Norm Perceptions and Motives for Lying Shape Sanctions," CESifo Working Paper Series 9385, CESifo.
    18. Jana Freundt & Holger Herz & Leander Kopp, 2023. "Intrinsic Preferences for Choice Autonomy," CESifo Working Paper Series 10342, CESifo.
    19. Sandro Ambuehl & B. Douglas Bernheim, 2021. "Interpreting the Will of the People - A Positive Analysis of Ordinal Preference Aggregation," CESifo Working Paper Series 9317, CESifo.
    20. Yuta Saito & Yosuke Takeda, 2022. "Capital taxation with parental incentives," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 24(6), pages 1310-1341, December.
    21. Haushofer, Johannes & Niehaus, Paul & Paramo, Carlos & Miguel, Edward & Walker, Michael W, 2022. "Targeting Impact Versus Deprivation," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt07j8n9vz, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    22. Tobias König & Renke Schmacker, 2022. "Preferences for Sin Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 10046, CESifo.
    23. Kai A. Konrad, 2023. "The Political Economy of Paternalism," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2019-17, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    24. Carmen Sainz Villalba, 2023. "Paternalism Preferences: Differences Across Genders," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2019-17, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    25. Kübler, Dorothea & Erkut, Hande, 2022. "Repugnant Transactions: The Role of Agency and Extreme Consequences," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264052, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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