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The Homer economicus narrative: from cognitive psychology to individual public policies

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  • Guilhem Lecouteux

    (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, COMUE UCA - COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019))

Abstract

A common narrative among some behavioural economists and policy makers is that experimental psychology highlights that individuals are more like Homer Simpson than the Mr Spock imagined by neoclassical economics, and that this justifies policies aiming to ‘correct' individual behaviours. This narrative is central to nudging policies and suggests that a better understanding of individual cognition will lead to better policy prescriptions. I argue that this Homer economicus narrative is methodologically flawed, and that its emphasis on cognition advances a distorted view of public policies consisting in fixing malfunctioning individuals, while ignoring the characteristics of the socio-economic environment that influence individuals' behaviours.

Suggested Citation

  • Guilhem Lecouteux, 2023. "The Homer economicus narrative: from cognitive psychology to individual public policies," Post-Print hal-03791951, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03791951
    DOI: 10.1080/1350178X.2023.2192222
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03791951v2
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    homo economicus; rational choice; replication crisis; behaviourally informed policy; Homer Simpson and Mr Spock;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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