The Behavioral Economics of Education: New Directions for Research

Over the past several decades, researchers have used economics to understand a number of issues in education policy. This article argues that some education researchers have defined economics too narrowly, neglecting several areas of economics research that cut across disciplinary boundaries. One subdiscipline of economics that might be of use in education, but which has not been applied much to it, is behavioral economics, which incorporates psychological knowledge about human behavior to enhance and extend economic models of decision making. This article reviews some of the behavioral concepts in economics that are most likely to inform education research and policy-prospect theory, framing effects, status quo bias, paradox of choice, and intrinsic motivation-and suggests directions for further research.