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Who wants paternalism?

Author

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  • Sofie Kragh Pedersen
  • Alexander K. Koch
  • Julia Nafziger

    (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark)

Abstract

Little is known about the demand side of paternalism. We investigate attitudes towards paternalism among Danish students. The main question is whether demand for paternalism is related to self-control, either because people with self-control problems seek commitment devices to overcome these problems, or because people with good self-control want those who lack it to change their behaviors. We find no evidence linking self-control to attitudes towards weak forms of paternalism (e.g. nudges or information about health consequences). But respondents with good selfcontrol are significantly more favorable towards strong paternalism (e.g. restricting choices or sin taxes) than those struggling with self-control.

Suggested Citation

  • Sofie Kragh Pedersen & Alexander K. Koch & Julia Nafziger, 2012. "Who wants paternalism?," Economics Working Papers 2012-22, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    • Handle: RePEc:aah:aarhec:2012-22
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cynthia Weiyi Cai, 2020. "Nudging the financial market? A review of the nudge theory," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 3341-3365, December.
    2. Alt, Marius, 2024. "Better us later than me now —," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    3. Sofie Kragh Pedersen & Alexander K. Koch & Julia Nafziger, 2014. "Who Wants Paternalism?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(S1), pages 147-166, December.
    4. Jan Schnellenbach, 2016. "A Constitutional Economics Perspective on Soft Paternalism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(1), pages 135-156, February.
    5. Carmen Sainz Villalba, 2023. "Paternalism Preferences: Differences Across Genders," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2023-03, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    6. Jan Schnellenbach, 2019. "Evolving hierarchical preferences and behavioral economic policies," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 178(1), pages 31-52, January.
    7. Tobias König & Renke Schmacker, 2022. "Preferences for Sin Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 10046, CESifo.
    8. 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.
    9. Lukasz Wozny & Michal Krawczyk, 2016. "An experiment on temptation and attitude towards paternalism," KAE Working Papers 2016-018, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    10. Nikil Mukerji & Adriano Mannino, 2023. "Nudge Me If You Can! Why Order Ethicists Should Embrace the Nudge Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(2), pages 309-324, August.
    11. Christian Schubert, 2015. "On the ethics of public nudging: Autonomy and Agency," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201533, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    12. Schütze, Tobias & Carlhoff, Henrik & Witschel, Helena, 2024. "Eliciting Paternalistic Preferences: An Incentivised Experiment," Thuenen-Series of Applied Economic Theory 169, University of Rostock, Institute of Economics.
    13. Schnellenbach, Jan, 2021. "The concept of Ordnungspolitik: Rule-based economic policy-making from the perspective of the Freiburg School," Freiburg Discussion Papers on Constitutional Economics 21/7, Walter Eucken Institut e.V..
    14. Kai A. Konrad, 2023. "The Political Economy of Paternalism," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2023-02, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    15. Jan Schnellenbach, 2023. "The concept of Ordnungspolitik: rule-based economic policymaking from the perspective of the Freiburg School," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 195(3), pages 283-300, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Self-control; paternalism; commitment; political attitudes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics

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