Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-08-28
William M. Gentry of Williams College reviews “Behavioral Public Finance” by Edward J. McCaffery, Joel Slemrod,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Twelve papers explore several facets of economic life and ask how behavioral research can increase public welfare. Papers discuss the move toward an agenda for behavioral public finance; statistical, identifiable, and iconic victims; distinguishing between cognitive biases; masking redistribution or its absence; mispredicting utility and the political process; hyperopia in public finance; value added tax compliance; trust and taxation; tax evasion--artful or artless dodging; accounting for social security benefits; saving for retirement on the path of least resistance; and second-order rationality. McCaffery is Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California. Slemrod is Paul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Index.”