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I Want to Be an Economist: A Rejoinder to Ross Gittins
Author(s) -
Borland Jeff
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
australian economic review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-8462
pISSN - 0004-9018
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8462.2012.00688.x
Subject(s) - panacea (medicine) , terminology , positive economics , economics , behavioural economics , behavioral economics , applied economics , neoclassical economics , public economics , microeconomics , philosophy , medicine , linguistics , alternative medicine , pathology
This article provides a rejoinder to Ross Gittins’ commentary on the potential contributions of psychology and behavioural economics to public policy formation. It includes three main arguments. First, that behavioural economics is not a new approach to doing economics, but instead is best seen as a way of enriching ‘conventional economics’ (using Gittins’ terminology). Second, that behavioural economics is not a panacea. Not all aspects of economic activity need psychology to be understood and behavioural economics has limitations. Third, that the failings of conventional economics are not as severe as Gittins suggests.