Book contents
- Escaping Paternalism
- Cambridge Studies in Economics, Choice, and Society
- Escaping Paternalism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What Is Rationality?
- 3 Rationality for Puppets
- 4 Preference Biases
- 5 The Rationality of Beliefs
- 6 Deficient Foundations for Behavioral Policymaking
- 7 Knowledge Problems in Paternalist Policymaking
- 8 The Political Economy of Paternalist Policymaking
- 9 Slippery Slopes in Paternalist Policymaking
- 10 Common Threads, Escape Routes, and Paths Forward
- References
- Index
4 - Preference Biases
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2019
- Escaping Paternalism
- Cambridge Studies in Economics, Choice, and Society
- Escaping Paternalism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What Is Rationality?
- 3 Rationality for Puppets
- 4 Preference Biases
- 5 The Rationality of Beliefs
- 6 Deficient Foundations for Behavioral Policymaking
- 7 Knowledge Problems in Paternalist Policymaking
- 8 The Political Economy of Paternalist Policymaking
- 9 Slippery Slopes in Paternalist Policymaking
- 10 Common Threads, Escape Routes, and Paths Forward
- References
- Index
Summary
The evidence for preference biases is very often flawed, incomplete, or misinterpreted. For example, inconsistent rates of time discount are largely eliminated when considered relative to the individual’s perception of time. Preference reversals in real time from patient to impatient behavior occur only in a minority of cases. Time inconsistency, when it occurs, need not be associated with actual harms to decision-makers. Evidence for the existence of endowment effects is problematic. Gaps between willingness to pay and willingness to accept have no normative significance. The evidence for impact bias is confused and weak, and to the extent that it occurs, its function has eluded most analysts. In addition to these concerns, we find that the preferences typically treated as normatively superior by behavioral paternalists are often implicated by biases as well.
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- Information
- Escaping PaternalismRationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy, pp. 91 - 118Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019