CEPR Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies

Stefano DellaVigna
Daniel Koshland, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Administration at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Sandra Sequeira
Sandra Sequeira is Associate Professor of Development Economics in the Department of International Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Many societal challenges require the use of economic instruments to change the behavior of people and companies. Economists often provide policy recommendations based on economic theory and ex-post policy evaluation studies. Such policy recommendations are not always followed by policymakers, because of lack of public support. Further, recent evidence suggests that people’s understanding of the state of the economy may differ from the actual state of the economy, with vibes about the economy, and no longer the economy itself, possibly paying a key role in deciding elections.

The workshop will discuss papers that explore the general public’s understanding of the economy and of economic policies, what determines such policies’ popularity, including the role of experience (causal analysis of public support), and how to make socially desirable economic policies politically acceptable. It also aims to dig deeper and understand what drives people’s policy preferences, including the role of ethical views and beliefs, and corresponding implications for actual policymaking.

Accommodation (2 hotel nights) and social dinner will be covered for presenters of accepted papers.
Funding for travel may be available for those who do not have a travel budget. The limits outlined in the CEPR Travel Guidelines will apply. If you require funding, please make sure to indicate this when submitting your paper.

The Call for Papers can be found here

Stefano Carattini (Georgia State University and CEPR)
Paolo Piacquadio (University of St.Gallen)
Klaus Schmidt (Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich and CEPR)

Mar Reguant (Northwestern University and CEPR)
Stefanie Stantcheva (Harvard University and CEPR)