Research topic "Behavioral Science"
Better Decision-Making in Markets – Understanding and Improving Decision Processes
A central aspect of the socio-ecological market economy are functioning competitive markets. Two central aspects of competitive markets are perfect information and rational consumers. In reality, however, these prerequisites for competitive markets are often violated. On the one hand, information asymmetry can be observed, i.e., only one party of a transaction has certain information and potentially utilizes this advantages or information scarcity, i.e., information is simply not accessible or available. On the other hand, problems that are too complex, limited cognitive capabilities/capacities, or limited time prevent fully rational choices. Consumers often use heuristics when making decisions which can result in biased decisions.
All these aspects can lead to inefficient decisions and inefficient markets, which the state often tries to counteract through regulatory intervention. The effect of these interventions and especially their unintended side effects are often unclear.