The power of the nudge: Policy lessons from behavioral economics

Friday, September 18, 2015

11:00 am - 4:30 pm EDT

Live Webcast

Online Only

Research is proliferating in behavioral economics, a field at the intersection of psychology and economics which tries to study how people actually behave, as opposed to the way they are assumed to behave in economists’ abstract models. This work has developed new and effective policies across many areas, from encouraging people to save for retirement to discouraging them from smoking.

On September 18, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings explored lessons from behavioral economics for fiscal and monetary policy with leading scholars in the field, who shared their findings and suggestions for policy.

Join the conversation on Twitter with #Nudge.

The power of the nudge: Policy lessons from behavioral economics

Agenda

September 18
- Introduction
  
  11:00 am
  
  Louise Sheiner The Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, Policy Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
- Keynote
  
  11:05 am - 11:25 am
  
  Raj Chetty William A. Ackman Professor of Economics - Harvard University, Director - Opportunity Insights
- Panel 1: Labor Supply & Tax
  
  11:25 am - 12:25 pm
  Download panelists’ materials:
  
  Naomi Feldman: Taxpayer Confusion: Evidence from the Child Tax Credit slides; paper
  
  Olivia Mitchell: Will They Take the Money and Work? An Empirical Analysis of People’s Willingness to Delay Claiming Social Security Benefits for a Lump Sum paper
  
  Johannes Schmieder: Reference Dependent Job Search: Evidence from Hungary slides; paper
  Louise Sheiner The Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, Policy Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
  
  Olivia S. Mitchell International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor - The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
  
  Naomi Feldman Associate Professor of Economics - Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Department of Economics
  
  Johannes Schmieder Assistant Professor of Economics - Boston University
- Lunch
  
  12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
  
  Maya Shankar Senior Advisor for the Social and Behavioral Sciences - Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House
- Panel 2: Credit & Saving
  
  1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
  Download panelists’ materials:
  
  David Laibson: 401(k)s can partially solve two more policy problems slides
  
  Antoinette Schoar: Investor biases and the role of financial advisors slides
  David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel
  
  David Laibson
  
  Antoinette Schoar Stewart C. Myers-Horn Family Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship - MIT Sloan School of Management
- Panel 3: Health
  
  2:30 pm - 3:10 pm
  Download panelists’ materials:
  
  Saurabh Bhargava: Health insurance and the affliction of choice slides; Do individuals make sensible health insurance decisions? Evidence from a menu with dominated options paper; Behavioral Economics and Public Policy 102: Beyond Nudging paper
  
  Kevin Volpp: Behavioral economics and health behaviors slides
  Peter R. Orszag Chief Executive Officer - Lazard
  
  Kevin Volpp Professor of Medicine and Health Care Management - Wharton, University of Pennsylvania
  
  Saurabh Bhargava Assistant Professor of Economics, Social and Decision Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University
- Final Discussion Panel
  
  3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
  
  David Wessel Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwessel
  
  Ted Gayer President - Niskanen Center, Former Executive Vice President - The Brookings Institution
  
  Varun Gauri Former Nonresident Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development
  
  David Yokum Social and Behavioral Sciences Team - The White House