Do the folk actually hold folk-economic beliefs?

Boyer & Petersen (B&P) argue that folk-economic beliefs are widespread – shaped by evolved cognitive systems – and they offer exemplar beliefs to illustrate their thesis. In this commentary, we highlight evidence of substantial variation in one of these exemplars: beliefs about immigration....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Behavioral and brain sciences 2018, Vol.41, p.e190-e190, Article e190
Main Authors: Tappin, Ben M., Ross, Robert, McKay, Ryan T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognitive ability
Economic impact
Educational attainment
Immigration
Noncitizens
Open Peer Commentary
Social research
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Summary:Boyer & Petersen (B&P) argue that folk-economic beliefs are widespread – shaped by evolved cognitive systems – and they offer exemplar beliefs to illustrate their thesis. In this commentary, we highlight evidence of substantial variation in one of these exemplars: beliefs about immigration. Contra claims by B&P, we argue that the balance of this evidence suggests the “folk” may actually hold positive beliefs about the economic impact of immigration.
ISSN:0140-525X
1469-1825
DOI:10.1017/S0140525X18000560