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Principles of (Behavioral) Economics

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  • Laibson, David I.
  • List, John A.

Abstract

Behavioral economics has become an important and integrated component of modern economics. Behavioral economists embrace the core principles of economics—optimization and equilibrium—and seek to develop and extend those ideas to make them more empirically accurate. Behavioral models assume that economic actors try to pick the best feasible option and those actors sometimes make mistakes. Behavioral ideas should be incorporated throughout the first-year undergraduate course. Instructors should also considering allocating a lecture (or more) to a focused discussion of behavioral concepts. We describe our approach to such a lecture, highlighting six modular principles and empirical examples that support them.

Suggested Citation

  • Laibson, David I. & List, John A., 2015. "Principles of (Behavioral) Economics," Scholarly Articles 30805504, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:30805504
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ding, Zhao & Jiang, Yuansheng, 2020. "Experience, learning behavior, and rural households’ preferences for microfinance," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304308, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Sergios Tzotzes & Dimitris Milonakis, 2021. "Paradigm Change or Assimilation? The Case of Behavioral Economics," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 173-192, March.
    3. John A. List, 2022. "Enhancing critical thinking skill formation: Getting fast thinkers to slow down," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 100-108, January.
    4. Shruti Rajagopalan, 2017. "Richard H. Thaler, Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 137-141, March.
    5. Mohammad Tariq Al Fozaie, 2022. "Behavior and Socio-Economic Development: An Interdisciplinary Perspective," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 11, November.
    6. Ahmet Ak & Oner Gumus, 2019. "The Possible Effects of Personal Income Tax and Value Added Tax on Consumer Behaviors," Papers 1910.03141, arXiv.org.
    7. Ran Spiegler, 2019. "Behavioral Economics and the Atheoretical Style," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 173-194, May.
    8. Malte F. Dold & Elias Emmerick, 2020. "Paul Dragos Aligica: Public entrepreneurship, citizenship, and self-governance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(3), pages 467-472, September.
    9. Bramblett, Paige N. & Fasczewski, Kimberly S. & Powell, Sara M., 2023. "Do it for the cause: Feasibility of a theory-based virtual 5 K walk/run program to increase physical activity behavior," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Carminati, Lara, 2020. "Behavioural Economics and Human Decision Making: Instances from the Health Care System," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(6), pages 659-664.
    11. Marie Briguglio & Charity-Joy Acchiardo & Dirk Mateer & Wayne Geerling, 2020. "Behavioral economics in film: Insights for educators," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 4(1), pages 17-28, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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