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Behavioral Welfare Economics and Consumer Sovereignty

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  • Guilhem Lecouteux

    (UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, 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

The aim of this chapter is to critically assess the argument advanced in behavioural welfare economics that preference inconsistency and violations of rational choice theory are the result of errors, and offer a direct justification for paternalistic regulations. I argue that (i) this position relies on a psychologically and philosophically problematic account of agency, (ii) the normative argument in favour of coherence is considerably weaker than usually considered, and (iii) BWE fails to justify why agents ought to be coherent by neoclassical standards. I conclude by discussing how BWE could still justify paternalistic regulations by endorsing a more institutionalist perspective

Suggested Citation

  • Guilhem Lecouteux, 2021. "Behavioral Welfare Economics and Consumer Sovereignty," Post-Print halshs-03418219, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03418219
    DOI: 10.4324/9781315739793-5
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03418219
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Gerardo Infante & Guilhem Lecouteux & Robert Sugden, 2016. "Preference purification and the inner rational agent: a critique of the conventional wisdom of behavioural welfare economics," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 1-25, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Guilhem Lecouteux, 2021. "Reconciling Normative and Behavioural Economics: The Problem that Cannot be Solved," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-27, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    2. Guilhem Lecouteux, 2022. "The Homer economicus narrative: from cognitive psychology to individual public policies," Working Papers hal-03791951, HAL.

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