Using behavioural economics in development policy

VoxDevTalk

Published 29.01.20
Photo credit:
TAO/flickr

Can the burgeoning field of behavioural economics provide important insights into development issues?

Audio file

Insights from behavioural economics are being used more and more in developing country settings. In this VoxDev talk, Michael Kremer and Gautam Rao from Harvard University, discuss their chapter in the 2019 edition of The Handbook of Behavioural Economics, which looks at the important implications of tendencies, such as present bias and loss aversion, when making economic decisions in every day life. The consequences of these choices tend to be amplified in developing countries due to the high rate of self-employed workers, making behavioural development economics a critical and growing field.