The rise of “behavioral man”

Randomized controlled trials and the “new” development agenda

Bibliographic Data

ID12979415
AuthorsH Stein (0000-0003-3845-860X, Association for Asian Studies), Samantha Cunningham (University of Michigan), Padraig Carmody (0000-0001-8699-703X, University of Johannesburg, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume14
Issue1
Pages62-75
Publication date2021-01-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHuman Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1942-7786 • E-ISSN: 2633-674X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1942778620987068
OpenAlexW3127986830
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited50

Despite their ostensible differences, both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and neoclassical economics, which undergirds neoliberalism, are characterized by unrealistic assumptions. This is not accidental but stems from a common desire for scientism, despite a substitution of “economic man” by what we call “behavioral man” in the former. However, the interactions between human behavior and context produce much greater diversity than allowed for in such approaches. As a result of these failings, RCTs do not challenge neoliberalism, but rather can be inserted into and help legitimize it. Consequently they do not alter the structural conditions producing poverty, but represent a form of “virtualism” that attempts to make the real conform to the ideal of neoclassical economics through “nudging.” This is often associated with conditionality, representing a continuation of the historically Northern-centered coloniality of power, which sometimes leads to ethical breaches and perverse development outcomes. Some examples from RCTs conducted or published by the World Bank—which has become a lead agency in promoting RCTs to assess the effectiveness of aid—in Africa are presented to illustrate our argument

Agency (philosophy · Argument (complex analysis · Behavioural economics · Conditionality · Context (archaeology · Economic growth · Economics · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Poverty · Scientism · Social science · Sociology · Advanced Causal Inference Techniques · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Law

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