Why do behavioral economists consider it helpful to base a theory of economic behavior on the actual mental processes that people use to make decisions? Why do neoclassical economists not care about whether a theory incorporates those actual mental processes?
Why do behavioral economists consider it helpful to base a theory of economic behavior on the actual mental processes that people use to make decisions? Why do neoclassical economists not care about whether a theory incorporates those actual mental processes?
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9. Behavioral economics
Indicate whether each of the following examples of behavior is consistent with the way traditional economic framework suggests people should act, or if it is reserved for behavioral economists to examine.
Example | Consistent with the Predictions of Traditional Economic Models | Reserved for Behavioral Economics | |
---|---|---|---|
Some people choose to work fewer hours after receiving a raise at work. | |||
Some people sacrifice disposable income to help their children pay for college. | |||
Some people care about how much money they make relative to other people rather than their absolute level of income. | |||
Some people treat $100 they earn differently from $100 they receive as a gift. |
An economic model is
a means of empirically testing an economic theory. | |
a generalization about the workings of an abstract economy. | |
a commonly held economic insight stated as a law or general assumption. | |
a framework that places the generalized insights of a theory in a more specific contextual setting. |
What besides a model do economists need to make policy recommendations?
Economists need to understand the empirical evidence supporting the theory as well as real-world economic institutions to make policy recommendations. | |
Economists also need to know the assumptions on which the model is based to make policy recommendations. | |
Economists need to understand the empirical evidence supporting the theory to make policy recommendations. | |
Economists need to understand the empirical evidence gathered through testing the model. |