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Does Libertarian Paternalism Reconcile Merit Goods Theory with Mainstream Economics?

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  • Stefan Mann
  • Miriam Gairing

Abstract

In the wake of Musgrave's move to question the absolute hegemony of individual preferences for normative economics in the 1950's by propounding the existence of merit goods, a recent book by Thaler and Sunstein is now making a similar claim under the label of ‘libertarian paternalism’. This paper tackles the question of why the framework of libertarian paternalism has received a so much more friendly reception among economists than the theory of merit goods. The main reason is a better foundation, not only for the conditions under which paternalism may be justified but also for the tools that should be applied, utilizing transaction cost theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Mann & Miriam Gairing, 2012. "Does Libertarian Paternalism Reconcile Merit Goods Theory with Mainstream Economics?," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2-3), pages 206-219, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:fosoec:v:41:y:2012:i:2-3:p:206-219
    DOI: 10.1007/s12143-010-9084-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2010. "The history of the mainstream rejection of interdependent preferences," MPRA Paper 23980, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Christophe Salvat, 2008. "Is Libertarian Paternalism an Oxymoron?," Working Papers hal-00336528, HAL.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hartmann, Monika & Simons, Johannes, 2015. "The Farm Animal Welfare - Dilemma: Can concerted Action of the Value Chain be a solution?," 148th Seminar, November 30-December 1, 2015, The Hague, The Netherlands 229280, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Kislev, Mickey M. & Kislev, Shira, 2020. "The Market Trajectory of a Radically New Product: E-Cigarettes," MPRA Paper 104425, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Maxime Desmarais-Tremblay, 2017. "Paternalism and the public household. On the domestic origins of public economics," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01560189, HAL.
    4. Tambovtsev, V., 2012. "Reasons for Baumol’s Cost Disease: Low Productivity or Cultural Stereotypes?," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 14(2), pages 132-134.
    5. Mann, Stefan, 2019. "Competitiveness of cattle breeding in Switzerland: the value of policies enabling informed decisions," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 8(3), December.

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