This paper examines the regulatory implications of behavioral economic insights. The central effect of behavioral economics in the legal literature to date has been to challenge the premise of formal economic theory that individuals understand their preferences and work to maximize these...

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS -- PREFACE -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- PART I: Introduction -- CHAPTER ONE. Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, Future / Camerer, Colin F. / Loewenstein, George -- PART II: Basic Topics -- REFERENCE-DEPENDENCE AND LOSS-AVERSION -- CHAPTER TWO....

We examine the phenomenon of escalation from an economist's perspective, emphasizing explanations which do not rule out rational behavior on the part of firms or agents. We argue that escalation cannot be established as a separate phenomenon unless these possible alternative explanations are...