BELIEVING IN ECONOMIC THEORIES: SEX, LIES, EVIDENCE, TRUST, AND IDEOLOGY

D. Andrew Austin () and Nathaniel Wilcox

Economic Inquiry, 2007, vol. 45, issue 3, 502-518

Abstract: Political economics views heterogeneity of political preferences largely as a reflection of heterogeneity in valuations of known policy outcomes. Voters, however, may be uncertain about policy outcomes, in part, because of uncertainty about how the economic world actually works. Heterogeneity of people’s beliefs about how well economic theories predict outcomes could then affect policy through democratic institutions. Using a combination of experimental and survey techniques drawn from economics and social and political psychology, we examine several potential sources of heterogeneity in beliefs about the predictive content of supply and demand theory, with a particular focus on the role of ideology. (JEL A110, A130, C420, C900)

Date: 2007
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