The rise of behavioral economics has important implications for the study of government regulation. Above all, the endogeneity of preferences offers a large area for positive work. Some environmental outcomes can be explained by status quo bias and the endowment effect. These phenomena help...

This essay is an introduction to a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Consumer Policy, on Behavioural Economics, Environmental Policy and the Consumer. It emphasizes that consumer behavior can be greatly affected by the context, which may make it easy or difficult for people to make...

Careful attention to choice architecture promises to open up new possibilities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions - possibilities that go well beyond, and that may supplement or complement, the standard tools of economic incentives, mandates, and bans. How, for example, do consumers choose...