Psychology, Economic Policy Design, and Implementation: Contributing to the Understanding of Economic Policy Failures in Africa
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Oppong, Seth
Abstract / Description
When designing economic policies, policy makers work with the assumption that targeted beneficiaries would respond in a manner that would lead to success of the policy. However, the responses of beneficiaries do not always follow the expected pattern. Drawing on Thaler and Sunstein’s (2008) and Asante’s (2003) theses, this paper projects the view that economic policies that fail to take account of the psychology of the target people fail. The position in this paper is based on the premises that human beings, as choice architects, are not necessarily rational beings always acting in their self-interests and that culture, traditions, and national aspirations influence the success of economic policies. It is argued that inertia (the unwillingness to move or change the status quo) is related to how individuals living in poverty respond to policies intended to alleviate their conditions. New theoretical insights are advanced and recommendations made on the basis of the exploration of the literature.
Keyword(s)
behavioural economics economic psychology policy studies Africa Pull-Him-Down Syndrome povertyPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2014-09-18
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
2
Issue
1
Page numbers
183–196
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Oppong, S. (2014). Psychology, Economic Policy Design, and Implementation: Contributing to the Understanding of Economic Policy Failures in Africa. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.306
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jspp.v2i1.306.pdfAdobe PDF - 434.19KBMD5: c53217a903b16d2eeef5b0d464dc9dd5
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Oppong, Seth
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:04Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:04Z
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Date of first publication2014-09-18
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Abstract / DescriptionWhen designing economic policies, policy makers work with the assumption that targeted beneficiaries would respond in a manner that would lead to success of the policy. However, the responses of beneficiaries do not always follow the expected pattern. Drawing on Thaler and Sunstein’s (2008) and Asante’s (2003) theses, this paper projects the view that economic policies that fail to take account of the psychology of the target people fail. The position in this paper is based on the premises that human beings, as choice architects, are not necessarily rational beings always acting in their self-interests and that culture, traditions, and national aspirations influence the success of economic policies. It is argued that inertia (the unwillingness to move or change the status quo) is related to how individuals living in poverty respond to policies intended to alleviate their conditions. New theoretical insights are advanced and recommendations made on the basis of the exploration of the literature.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationOppong, S. (2014). Psychology, Economic Policy Design, and Implementation: Contributing to the Understanding of Economic Policy Failures in Africa. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.306en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1343
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1747
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.306
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Keyword(s)behavioural economicsen_US
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Keyword(s)economic psychologyen_US
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Keyword(s)policy studiesen_US
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Keyword(s)Africaen_US
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Keyword(s)Pull-Him-Down Syndromeen_US
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Keyword(s)povertyen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitlePsychology, Economic Policy Design, and Implementation: Contributing to the Understanding of Economic Policy Failures in Africaen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers183–196
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Volume2
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record