Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/103131 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 4988
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Explaining individual behavior in politics should rely on the same motivational assumptions as explaining behavior in the market: That's what Political Economy, understood as the application of economics to the study of political processes, is all about. In its standard variant, those who played the game of politics should also be considered rational and self-interested, unlike the benevolent despot of earlier models. History repeats itself with the rise of behavioral economics: Assuming cognitive biases to be present in the market, but not in politics, behavioral economists often call for government to intervene in a benevolent way. Recently, however, political economists have started to apply behavioral economics insights to the study of political processes, thereby re-establishing a unified methodology. This paper surveys the current state of the emerging field of Behavioral Political Economy and considers the scope for further research.
Subjects: 
behavioral political economy
behavioral economics
rational irrationality
cognitive biases
social norms
voting
paternalism
JEL: 
D78
D03
A12
D72
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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