Behavioral Economics, Rationality, Paternalism and their Impact on Public Policy

On today's episode, Shruti Rajagopalan, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, chats with Mario Rizzo and Glen Whitman about their latest book, Escaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy. The three of them discuss the impact that behavioral economics, rationality, and paternalism have on public policy including, nudge paternalism, sin taxes, default rules, true preferences, and how behavioralists may be the new baptists.

Check out some of the Mercatus Center's research related to this topic:

• For Your Own Good: Taxes, Paternalism, and Fiscal Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century by Adam J. Hoffer and Todd Nesbit
• Behavioral Paternalism and Policy in Evaluating Consumer Financial Protection by Todd Zywicki and Adam C. Smith

Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu. 

If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu.