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Behavioral Economics and the Atheoretical Style

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  • Ran Spiegler

Abstract

Behavioral economics is widely perceived to be part of the profession's shift away from a culture that places abstract theory at its center. I present a critical discussion of the atheoretical style with which "behavioral" themes are often disseminated: a purely anecdotal style in popular expositions, simplistic cost-benefit modeling in pieces that target a wide audience of academic economists, and the practice of capturing psychological forces by distorting familiar functional forms. I argue that the subject of "psychology and economics" is intrinsically foundational, and that a heavier dose of abstract theorizing is essential for it to realize its transformative potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Ran Spiegler, 2019. "Behavioral Economics and the Atheoretical Style," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 173-194, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmic:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:173-94
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mic.20170007
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Bachi, Benjamin & Spiegler, Ran, 2018. "Buridanic competition," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 298-315.
    2. Rommel, Florian & Urban, Janina, 2022. "A Survey of German Economics," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264131, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Karpov, Aleksandr, 2017. "Price competition and limited attention," Economics Discussion Papers 2017-89, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Glenn W. Harrison & Jia Min Ng, 2019. "Behavioral insurance and economic theory: A literature review," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 22(2), pages 133-182, July.
    5. Urban, Janina & Rommel, Florian, 2020. "German economics: Its current form and content," Working Paper Serie des Instituts für Ökonomie 56, Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung (HfGG), Institut für Ökonomie.
    6. Sebastian Krugel & Matthias Uhl, 2021. "The Behavioral Economics of Intrapersonal Conflict: A Critical Assessment," Papers 2101.12526, arXiv.org.
    7. Grislain-Letrémy, Céline & Villeneuve, Bertrand, 2020. "The ground for negotiation: Zoning for risk reduction around hazardous plants," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 657-677.
    8. Philippe Jehiel, 2022. "Analogy-Based Expectation Equilibrium and Related Concepts:Theory, Applications, and Beyond," Working Papers halshs-03735680, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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