Essays in behavioral economics

Alexander Sebald ()

ULB Institutional Repository from ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: Traditionally economics is based on very narrow presumptions about human behavior, namely selfishness. In the last 20 years, however, experimental research has accumulated overwhelming evidence that is at odds with these classical assumptions. It has been shown that people very often care about the distributional consequences of their actions and intentions.

Against this background, in this thesis the impact of broader models of human behavior on decision making and human interactions is studied, for example the impact of indirect reciprocity on human relationships. If educational expenditures of parents into children depend on grandparents' investments into the parent’s education, then private educational spending is inefficiently low and should be supported by the state. This finding stands in contrast to earlier results that show that parents might invest optimally into the education of their children out of pure altruism or strategic transfer motives.

Keywords: Economics -- Psychological aspects; Consumer behavior; Economie politique -- Aspect psychologique; Consommateurs -- Comportement; Behavioral Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 1 v. (153 p.)
Date: 2008-09-25
Note: Degree: Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
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