Gustavsson, John (2016) The Marginal Benefit of Manipulation: Investigating paternalistic interventions in the context of intertemporal choice. Working Paper. Maynooth University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Libertarian paternalism (LP) has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative way for governments to induce consumers into making “good” decisions. Many, however, question the ethics of such interventions, calling them a form of psychological manipulation, and instead argue interventions should focus on expanding the information set available to consumers and encouraging consumers to reason their way to the right decision. Such interventions are known as Autonomy-Enhancing Paternalism. The question remains how effective such interventions are relative to LP interventions. In this paper I introduce the term Marginal Benefit of Manipulation (MBoM), the difference between the treatment effect of an LP and an AEP intervention. I find that the AEP intervention does not succeed in altering behavior, but the LP intervention does not fare better and may backfire when participants are exposed to it repeatedly. Neither intervention had any significant effect on behavior beyond the immediate present.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Keywords:	Marginal Benefit; Manipulation; Investigating paternalistic interventions; intertemporal choice;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics, Finance and Accounting
Item ID:	7667
Depositing User:	Ms Sandra Doherty
Date Deposited:	29 Nov 2016 16:23
Publisher:	Maynooth University
URI:
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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