Category Archives: Behavioral Economics and Public Policy

Sunk Costs and Public Parks

Posted on Monday, June 17, 2013

Behavioral economists have written a lot about sunk costs. The idea is pretty simple: once people have invested in an effort – in time or money – they stick with that effort longer than is otherwise justified. They don’t want … Continue reading →

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Would the Founding Fathers Approve of a Sugar Tax?

Posted on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Recently Mayor Michael Bloomberg learned that his Big Gulp ban had been blocked by a state Supreme Court judge for arbitrarily targeting these consumer goods without a legal rationale.  Determined to combat the obesity epidemic, Bloomberg will no doubt appeal this … Continue reading →

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What Bracketology Teaches Us About Banking

Posted on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

A dozen years ago, my wife filled out an NCAA bracket on a popular website.  Out of more than 1 million entries, she finished somewhere around 17th. Think about it: 17th out of a million.  Clearly I married up!  I … Continue reading →

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Behavioral Economics in the Bathroom?

Posted on Friday, March 1, 2013

One of the dangers of studying behavioral economics and psychology is that the ideas follow you around pretty much everywhere you go.  I was reminded of that when some of my students came back from a mid-class bathroom break to … Continue reading →

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Are You Smarter than a Radiologist?

Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Notice anything unusual about this CT scan? On the upper right side is an image of a gorilla. According to a new study, 83% of radiologists missed this image. They had been looking through a series of scans, looking for … Continue reading →

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Brain Control and Consumer Behavior

Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lN8vWm3m0″

I teach a course on consumer irrationality and market failure at the Fuqua School of Business. I open up one of my lectures with a brief video demonstration of what psychologists call “the McGurk effect.” (See an example here.) In the video, … Continue reading →

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Should Little Caesars Be Forced to Tell Consumers How Many Calories Are in a Large Pizza?

Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2012

As a fan of free markets, I recognize that sometimes intelligent government regulations (not always an oxymoron!) can improve markets by requiring companies to provide consumers with information that will help them make better choices. Informed consumers, after all, are … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, Health Policy | Tagged ,

So Many Medicare Plans That People Want to Stay Put!

Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Republicans and Democrats agree that Medicare is in trouble – that if its costs keep rising faster than inflation, we will face insurmountable federal budget deficits. They also agree that the problem can be fixed. But that is where their … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, Health Policy | Tagged , , ,

Penalizing Smokers So They Will Quit

Posted on Thursday, July 26, 2012

Recently my employer, Duke University, announced it would be charging $10 more per month to offer health insurance to smokers (see story here).  Duke’s policy has a couple motivations.  Smokers get sick you see, and those smoking related illnesses cost Duke money.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, Health & Well-being

Does Your Oncologist Care About Your Quality of Life?

Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2012

Facing advanced cancer, who among us wouldn’t look to our oncologist for expert advice on whether another round of chemotherapy makes sense?  But do you know what your oncologist cares about, and can you be sure her recommendations map onto … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, Medical Decision Making, Uncategorized