Malte Dold
Biographic Data
| ID | 4413517 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Malte Dold |
| GIVEN NAMES | Malte |
| FAMILY NAME | Dold |
| SIGNATURE | DOLD M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Pomona College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1626-9878 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Individual autonomy and public deliberation in behavioral public policy
The most successful concept in behavioral public policy (BPP) is nudging, which involves altering choice architecture to leverage people’s biases and heuristics to promote welfare-improving behaviors. However, in recent years, nudging has faced criticism. This article addresses a specific critique: while nudges may enhance welfare, they often fail to promote autonomy. Several authors have raised this concern, yet there is no unified definition of…
Agency, adaptation, and discussion in liberal societies
This article examines some of the distinct features of Frank H. Knight’s liberalism. While acknowledging the necessity of markets and competition, Knight critiques their potential to shape people’s preferences and foster problematic values, such as excessive rivalry and materialism, that threaten individual agency and social cohesion. For Knight, individual agency means more than merely exercising competence in achieving pre-determined preference…
Mark Fabian, A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing (Oxford
From heuristics and biases to agency
Behavioural economics in the heuristics-and-biases tradition of Kahneman and Tversky is best known for explaining how people actually make decisions. However, less attention has been paid to its role in shaping normative decision making, which focuses on evaluating welfare and guiding choices. This article traces the evolving meanings of normativity in behavioural economics from the 1970s to the 2010s, exploring different interpretations of “irra…
Recent developments in Behavioural Public Policy
Introduction to IBPPC 2022Behavioural Public Policy (BPP) is an established sub-discipline of public policy.BPP uses insights from behavioural science, broadly defined, to shape and inform public policy.Intersectionality in social sciences research is central to the research agenda of BPP.To this extent, BPP invites diversity in its approach to understand human behaviours and make policy recommendations, from scholars across established disciplin…
Process, rationality and human wellbeing
This special issue explores foundational questions in behavioral economics and behavioral public policy, drawing on the work of Mario Rizzo, a critical voice in the debate on behavioral paternalism. Behavioral economics has offered significant insights into decision-making, often challenging traditional economic models. However, it has also introduced normative frameworks into policy analysis, such as preference purification, that critics argue o…
Hayekian psychological economics
Recently, there has been a lively discussion of “Hayekian Behavioral Economics” in Behavioral Public Policy ). We aim to contribute to this debate by identifying the main building blocks of a Hayekian psychology. We highlight that the starting point for Hayek was the quest to understand why humans are typically quite successful in navigating the world. In Hayek's framework, the individual mind is conceptualized as a “system within a system”, i.e.…
Kahneman’s tryst with reasonableness
Kahneman’s criticism of neoclassical rationality was central to his research programme. He argued that rationality understood as temporal consistency among preferences and beliefs is inapt as a descriptive and prescriptive standard of decision-making. Descriptively, consistency ignores high decision costs and biases, such as framing effects. Prescriptively, it is problematic since it neglects the processual nature of choice and the crucial role o…
The narrative that should guide applied behavioural science
This article serves as a commentary on Michael Hallsworth’s 2023 piece, ‘A manifesto for applying behavioural science,’ featured in Nature Human Behaviour . The manifesto was prompted by methodological, practical and normative critiques directed at behavioural science and its role in public policy. In this commentary, I argue that the manifesto presents numerous insightful and constructive reform proposals regarding the scope, methods and values …
A neglected topos in behavioural normative economics
Robert Sugden has advanced various critiques of behavioural welfare economics, offering the notion of opportunity as an alternative. We agree with much of Sugden's critique but argue that his approach would benefit from a broadening of the informational base beyond opportunities to include people's concern for decision processes. We follow Amartya Sen in arguing that the process through which choices are made ( process freedom ) is something indi…
The ideological use and abuse of Freiburg’s ordoliberalism
In the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis, a battle of ideas emerged over whether ordoliberalism is part of the cause or the solution of economic problems in Europe. While German ordoliberals argued that their policy proposals were largely ignored before, during and after the crisis, critics saw too much ordoliberal influence, especially in form of austerity policies. We argue that neither view is entirely correct. Instead, we observe that the batt…
Stability of the liberal order, moral learning, and constitutional choice
Buchanan mentions at several points in his oeuvre the necessary role for a constitutional attitude. This attitude is both explanatory and evaluative; it explains why citizens value liberty but also highlights one of the necessary conditions for the stability of a free society. We argue that Buchanan’s idea of a ‘constitutional attitude’ is extremely relevant, though underdeveloped. Firstly, it remains an open question what exactly a constitutiona…
Endogenous preferences
This paper starts with the observation from behavioral economics that preferences are endogenous, i.e., they are unstable, context-dependent, and open to processes of adaptation. It then asks whether welfare analysis and normative economics are still possible in a world populated by people with endogenous preferences. In particular, it looks at recent proposals by Viktor Vanberg and Carl Christian von Weizsäcker. In highlighting an institutional …
Viktor Vanberg
This chapter provides an overview of the work of German economist-sociologist Viktor Vanberg. By working out a synthesis between the contractarian economics of James Buchanan and the evolutionary economics of Friedrich Hayek, Vanberg has made essential contributions to the development and modernisation of Ordoliberal thinking. The first part of this chapter highlights biographical milestones in Vanberg’s career, which help trace important persona…
Opportunity, not Welfare
In Fairness versus Welfare (2003), Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell provide a manifesto for normative law and economics. Therein, they spell out the foundations for contemporary law and economics based on a Paretian consequentialist welfarism and a preferentialist account of welfare. We argue in this paper that this normative program faces serious challenges from recent behavioral insights that push back against a core assumption of a preferential…
Agentic preferences
Since the publication of the seminal book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, several critics have highlighted preference endogeneity as a serious obstacle to nudging. When individuals hold preferences that are dynamic and endogenous to the nudge frame, it is unclear what the normative benchmark for libertarian paternalistic policies should be. While acknowledging this issue, the pro-nudging camp has not yet sufficiently addressed it. This article aims…
Old Chicago against Static Welfare Economics
Although behavioral economists have criticized the empirical accuracy of the neoclassical rationality assumption, they support the normative view that welfare-increasing choice presupposes stable, context-independent preferences. We argue that this position neglects important features of decision-making that were essential to the thinking of Frank H. Knight and James M. Buchanan (Old Chicago economics). Knight and Buchanan embrace the idea that w…
Dynamic preferences and the behavioral case against sin taxes
Paul Dragos Aligica
Can a contractarian be a paternalist? The logic of James M. Buchanan’s system
Ordoliberalism and European Economic Policy
Ordoliberalism is not Responsible for Jihadist Terrorism in Europe
Agentic preferences
Since the publication of the seminal book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, several critics have highlighted preference endogeneity as a serious obstacle to nudging. When individuals hold preferences that are dynamic and endogenous to the nudge frame, it is unclear what the normative benchmark for libertarian paternalistic policies should be. While acknowledging this issue, the pro-nudging camp has not yet sufficiently addressed it. This article aims…
A neglected topos in behavioural normative economics
Robert Sugden has advanced various critiques of behavioural welfare economics, offering the notion of opportunity as an alternative. We agree with much of Sugden's critique but argue that his approach would benefit from a broadening of the informational base beyond opportunities to include people's concern for decision processes. We follow Amartya Sen in arguing that the process through which choices are made ( process freedom ) is something indi…
Agency, adaptation, and discussion in liberal societies
This article examines some of the distinct features of Frank H. Knight’s liberalism. While acknowledging the necessity of markets and competition, Knight critiques their potential to shape people’s preferences and foster problematic values, such as excessive rivalry and materialism, that threaten individual agency and social cohesion. For Knight, individual agency means more than merely exercising competence in achieving pre-determined preference…
Hayekian psychological economics
Recently, there has been a lively discussion of “Hayekian Behavioral Economics” in Behavioral Public Policy ). We aim to contribute to this debate by identifying the main building blocks of a Hayekian psychology. We highlight that the starting point for Hayek was the quest to understand why humans are typically quite successful in navigating the world. In Hayek's framework, the individual mind is conceptualized as a “system within a system”, i.e.…
Kahneman’s tryst with reasonableness
Kahneman’s criticism of neoclassical rationality was central to his research programme. He argued that rationality understood as temporal consistency among preferences and beliefs is inapt as a descriptive and prescriptive standard of decision-making. Descriptively, consistency ignores high decision costs and biases, such as framing effects. Prescriptively, it is problematic since it neglects the processual nature of choice and the crucial role o…
The narrative that should guide applied behavioural science
This article serves as a commentary on Michael Hallsworth’s 2023 piece, ‘A manifesto for applying behavioural science,’ featured in Nature Human Behaviour . The manifesto was prompted by methodological, practical and normative critiques directed at behavioural science and its role in public policy. In this commentary, I argue that the manifesto presents numerous insightful and constructive reform proposals regarding the scope, methods and values …
Dynamic preferences and the behavioral case against sin taxes
The ideological use and abuse of Freiburg’s ordoliberalism
In the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis, a battle of ideas emerged over whether ordoliberalism is part of the cause or the solution of economic problems in Europe. While German ordoliberals argued that their policy proposals were largely ignored before, during and after the crisis, critics saw too much ordoliberal influence, especially in form of austerity policies. We argue that neither view is entirely correct. Instead, we observe that the batt…
Endogenous preferences
This paper starts with the observation from behavioral economics that preferences are endogenous, i.e., they are unstable, context-dependent, and open to processes of adaptation. It then asks whether welfare analysis and normative economics are still possible in a world populated by people with endogenous preferences. In particular, it looks at recent proposals by Viktor Vanberg and Carl Christian von Weizsäcker. In highlighting an institutional …
Can a contractarian be a paternalist? The logic of James M. Buchanan’s system
Ordoliberalism is not Responsible for Jihadist Terrorism in Europe
Ordoliberalism is not Responsible for Jihadist Terrorism in Europe
Ordoliberalism and European Economic Policy
Paul Dragos Aligica
Can a contractarian be a paternalist? The logic of James M. Buchanan’s system
Old Chicago against Static Welfare Economics
Although behavioral economists have criticized the empirical accuracy of the neoclassical rationality assumption, they support the normative view that welfare-increasing choice presupposes stable, context-independent preferences. We argue that this position neglects important features of decision-making that were essential to the thinking of Frank H. Knight and James M. Buchanan (Old Chicago economics). Knight and Buchanan embrace the idea that w…
Dynamic preferences and the behavioral case against sin taxes
Viktor Vanberg
This chapter provides an overview of the work of German economist-sociologist Viktor Vanberg. By working out a synthesis between the contractarian economics of James Buchanan and the evolutionary economics of Friedrich Hayek, Vanberg has made essential contributions to the development and modernisation of Ordoliberal thinking. The first part of this chapter highlights biographical milestones in Vanberg’s career, which help trace important persona…
Opportunity, not Welfare
In Fairness versus Welfare (2003), Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell provide a manifesto for normative law and economics. Therein, they spell out the foundations for contemporary law and economics based on a Paretian consequentialist welfarism and a preferentialist account of welfare. We argue in this paper that this normative program faces serious challenges from recent behavioral insights that push back against a core assumption of a preferential…
Agentic preferences
Since the publication of the seminal book Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein, several critics have highlighted preference endogeneity as a serious obstacle to nudging. When individuals hold preferences that are dynamic and endogenous to the nudge frame, it is unclear what the normative benchmark for libertarian paternalistic policies should be. While acknowledging this issue, the pro-nudging camp has not yet sufficiently addressed it. This article aims…
A neglected topos in behavioural normative economics
Robert Sugden has advanced various critiques of behavioural welfare economics, offering the notion of opportunity as an alternative. We agree with much of Sugden's critique but argue that his approach would benefit from a broadening of the informational base beyond opportunities to include people's concern for decision processes. We follow Amartya Sen in arguing that the process through which choices are made ( process freedom ) is something indi…
The ideological use and abuse of Freiburg’s ordoliberalism
In the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis, a battle of ideas emerged over whether ordoliberalism is part of the cause or the solution of economic problems in Europe. While German ordoliberals argued that their policy proposals were largely ignored before, during and after the crisis, critics saw too much ordoliberal influence, especially in form of austerity policies. We argue that neither view is entirely correct. Instead, we observe that the batt…
Stability of the liberal order, moral learning, and constitutional choice
Buchanan mentions at several points in his oeuvre the necessary role for a constitutional attitude. This attitude is both explanatory and evaluative; it explains why citizens value liberty but also highlights one of the necessary conditions for the stability of a free society. We argue that Buchanan’s idea of a ‘constitutional attitude’ is extremely relevant, though underdeveloped. Firstly, it remains an open question what exactly a constitutiona…
Endogenous preferences
This paper starts with the observation from behavioral economics that preferences are endogenous, i.e., they are unstable, context-dependent, and open to processes of adaptation. It then asks whether welfare analysis and normative economics are still possible in a world populated by people with endogenous preferences. In particular, it looks at recent proposals by Viktor Vanberg and Carl Christian von Weizsäcker. In highlighting an institutional …
Recent developments in Behavioural Public Policy
Introduction to IBPPC 2022Behavioural Public Policy (BPP) is an established sub-discipline of public policy.BPP uses insights from behavioural science, broadly defined, to shape and inform public policy.Intersectionality in social sciences research is central to the research agenda of BPP.To this extent, BPP invites diversity in its approach to understand human behaviours and make policy recommendations, from scholars across established disciplin…
Process, rationality and human wellbeing
This special issue explores foundational questions in behavioral economics and behavioral public policy, drawing on the work of Mario Rizzo, a critical voice in the debate on behavioral paternalism. Behavioral economics has offered significant insights into decision-making, often challenging traditional economic models. However, it has also introduced normative frameworks into policy analysis, such as preference purification, that critics argue o…
Hayekian psychological economics
Recently, there has been a lively discussion of “Hayekian Behavioral Economics” in Behavioral Public Policy ). We aim to contribute to this debate by identifying the main building blocks of a Hayekian psychology. We highlight that the starting point for Hayek was the quest to understand why humans are typically quite successful in navigating the world. In Hayek's framework, the individual mind is conceptualized as a “system within a system”, i.e.…
Kahneman’s tryst with reasonableness
Kahneman’s criticism of neoclassical rationality was central to his research programme. He argued that rationality understood as temporal consistency among preferences and beliefs is inapt as a descriptive and prescriptive standard of decision-making. Descriptively, consistency ignores high decision costs and biases, such as framing effects. Prescriptively, it is problematic since it neglects the processual nature of choice and the crucial role o…
The narrative that should guide applied behavioural science
This article serves as a commentary on Michael Hallsworth’s 2023 piece, ‘A manifesto for applying behavioural science,’ featured in Nature Human Behaviour . The manifesto was prompted by methodological, practical and normative critiques directed at behavioural science and its role in public policy. In this commentary, I argue that the manifesto presents numerous insightful and constructive reform proposals regarding the scope, methods and values …
Individual autonomy and public deliberation in behavioral public policy
The most successful concept in behavioral public policy (BPP) is nudging, which involves altering choice architecture to leverage people’s biases and heuristics to promote welfare-improving behaviors. However, in recent years, nudging has faced criticism. This article addresses a specific critique: while nudges may enhance welfare, they often fail to promote autonomy. Several authors have raised this concern, yet there is no unified definition of…
Agency, adaptation, and discussion in liberal societies
This article examines some of the distinct features of Frank H. Knight’s liberalism. While acknowledging the necessity of markets and competition, Knight critiques their potential to shape people’s preferences and foster problematic values, such as excessive rivalry and materialism, that threaten individual agency and social cohesion. For Knight, individual agency means more than merely exercising competence in achieving pre-determined preference…
Mark Fabian, A Theory of Subjective Wellbeing (Oxford
From heuristics and biases to agency
Behavioural economics in the heuristics-and-biases tradition of Kahneman and Tversky is best known for explaining how people actually make decisions. However, less attention has been paid to its role in shaping normative decision making, which focuses on evaluating welfare and guiding choices. This article traces the evolving meanings of normativity in behavioural economics from the 1970s to the 2010s, exploring different interpretations of “irra…
Political science (16 works) · Economics (15 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Positive economics (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics (7 works) · Law and economics (7 works) · Politics (6 works)