The power of the nudge: Policy lessons from behavioral economics
Past Event
The power of the nudge: Policy lessons from behavioral economics
The power of the nudge: Policy lessons from behavioral economics

Keynote Address and Panel 1: Labor Supply & Tax

Lunch Keynote Address and Panel 2: Credit & Saving
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.
Agenda
Introduction
Louise Sheiner
The Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Policy Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Keynote
Raj Chetty
William A. Ackman Professor of Economics - Harvard University
Director - Opportunity Insights
Panel 1: Labor Supply & Tax
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
Economist, Fiscal Analysis Section, Research and Statistics - Federal Reserve Board
Johannes Schmieder
Assistant Professor of Economics - Boston University
Lunch
Maya Shankar
Senior Advisor for the Social and Behavioral Sciences - Office of Science and Technology Policy, White House
Panel 2: Credit & Saving
Download panelists’ materials:
David Wessel
Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Antoinette Schoar
Stewart C. Myers-Horn Family Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship - MIT Sloan School of Management
Panel 3: Health
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
Vice Chairman of Investment Banking, Managing Director, and Global Co-Head of Healthcare - 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
David Wessel
Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Senior Fellow - Economic Studies
Varun Gauri
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow - Global Economy and Development
David Yokum
Social and Behavioral Sciences Team - The White House
More Information
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