Behavioural economics is a relatively new field that combines insights from psychology and economics to understand how people make decisions. It challenges the traditional economic assumption that individuals are rational and always act in their best interest. Instead, it recognizes that human behaviour is influenced by a variety of factors, including emotions, biases, and social norms.
The Role of Incentives in Traditional Economics
In traditional economics, incentives play a crucial role in shaping individual behaviour. The basic premise is that individuals respond to incentives and will make decisions that maximize their own self-interest.This assumption is based on the idea that humans are rational beings who weigh the costs and benefits of different options before making a decision. For example, if a company offers a higher salary for a particular job, individuals will be more likely to apply for that job. Similarly, if the government increases taxes on cigarettes, people may be less likely to smoke. In both cases, the incentive is designed to change behaviour in a predictable way.
The Limitations of Traditional Economic Theory
While traditional economic theory has been successful in explaining many aspects of human behaviour, it has its limitations. One of the main criticisms is that it fails to account for the irrational and emotional aspects of decision-making. For instance, individuals may continue to smoke despite knowing the health risks because they derive pleasure from it.Similarly, people may choose to donate money to charity even though it may not be in their best financial interest. These decisions cannot be explained solely by rational self-interest and require a deeper understanding of human behaviour.
The Emergence of Behavioural Economics
Behavioural economics emerged as a response to these limitations of traditional economic theory. It recognizes that individuals are not always rational and that their behaviour is influenced by a variety of factors, including emotions, biases, and social norms. One of the key insights of behavioural economics is that individuals are not always motivated by financial incentives. In fact, research has shown that non-monetary incentives, such as recognition and social status, can be more effective in motivating behaviour change.The Role of Incentives in Behavioural Economics
So how does behavioural economics view the concept of incentives? Unlike traditional economics, which assumes that individuals are solely motivated by self-interest, behavioural economics recognizes that people are also motivated by other factors such as social norms, emotions, and cognitive biases. Behavioural economists argue that incentives need to be carefully designed to take into account these other factors.For instance, offering a financial reward may not be enough to motivate individuals to adopt a new behaviour if it goes against their social norms or if they have a strong emotional attachment to their current behaviour. Moreover, behavioural economics also recognizes that individuals may not always make decisions that are in their best interest. This is because our decisions are often influenced by cognitive biases, such as the tendency to overvalue short-term gains over long-term benefits. For example, individuals may choose to spend money on luxury items instead of saving for retirement, even though saving would be the more rational choice in the long run. In this case, offering a financial incentive may not be enough to change behaviour because the individual's decision-making is influenced by cognitive biases.
The Importance of Context
Another key insight of behavioural economics is that incentives need to be tailored to the specific context in which they are being used. What works in one situation may not work in another. For instance, research has shown that offering a financial incentive can be effective in motivating individuals to quit smoking in the short term.However, in the long run, the incentive may lose its effectiveness as individuals become accustomed to it and may even lead to a backlash effect where individuals feel like their autonomy is being threatened. Similarly, offering a financial reward for blood donations may be effective in increasing donations in the short term, but it may also lead to a decrease in donations once the incentive is removed.
The Dark Side of Incentives
While incentives can be a powerful tool for behaviour change, they also have a dark side. Behavioural economists have identified several unintended consequences of using incentives, which can have negative effects on individuals and society as a whole. One of the main concerns is that incentives can crowd out intrinsic motivation. In other words, when individuals are offered a reward for doing something they already enjoy, they may start to view the activity as work rather than something they do for pleasure. This can lead to a decrease in overall motivation and satisfaction. In addition, incentives can also create a sense of entitlement and undermine ethical behaviour.For instance, research has shown that offering financial rewards for blood donations can lead to individuals feeling like they are entitled to compensation for their blood, which can lead to unethical behaviour such as lying about their health status.