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Neuroeconomics: Hype or Hope? An Answer

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  • Alexandre Truc

    (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)

Abstract

In June of 2010, a special issue in the Journal of Economic Methodology was introduced with the question: "Neuroeconomics: Hype or Hope?" (Marchionni and Vromen, 2010). More than ten years later, it is time to provide an answer. Using a variety of sources ranging from Web of Science to EconLit, I assess the importance of neuroeconomics as a research program in economics. I show that after a rapid increase in interest in the early 2000s, neuroeconomics decreased in importance beginning in the 2010s, especially compared with the continuing rise of behavioral economics. Here, I explore a number of explanations for this decline in interest. Then, I compare neuroeconomics with behavioral economics to emphasize key points of divergence in how these programs were constructed at the frontiers of economics. Most notably, I show that neuroeconomists were more confrontational in their approach to economics, more focused on programmatic writings with few theoretical contributions, and importantly, more oriented towards neuroscience rather than economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandre Truc, 2023. "Neuroeconomics: Hype or Hope? An Answer," Post-Print hal-04719266, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04719266
    DOI: 10.4000/oeconomia.15489
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04719266v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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