The Role of Behavioral Economics in Evidence-Based Policymaking

Behavioral economics has come to play an important role in evidence-based policymaking. In September 2015, President Obama signed an executive order directing federal agencies to incorporate insights from behavioral science into federal policies and programs. The order also charged the White House S...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2018-07, Vol.678 (1), p.81-92
Main Authors: CONGDON, WILLIAM J., SHANKAR, MAYA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral economics
Behavioral sciences
Deception
Directing
Economics
Executive orders
Government agencies
Lying
Major Elements of the Evidence-Based Movement
Money
Policy making
Prospects
Public policy
Teams
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Behavioral economics has come to play an important role in evidence-based policymaking. In September 2015, President Obama signed an executive order directing federal agencies to incorporate insights from behavioral science into federal policies and programs. The order also charged the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) with supporting this directive. In this article, we briefly trace the history of behavioral economics in public policy. We then turn to a discussion of what the SBST was, how it was built, and the lessons we draw from its experience and achievements. We conclude with a discussion of prospects for the future, arguing that even as SBST is currently lying fallow, behavioral economics continues to gain currency and show promise as an essential element of evidence-based policy.
ISSN:0002-7162
1552-3349
DOI:10.1177/0002716218766268