Verbraucherschutz aus institutionen- und verhaltensökonomischer Sicht

Abstract

Abstract From an economic point of view, there is a consensus that sufficient consumer protection cannot be achieved solely through effective competition policy aimed at limiting the abuse of market power to the detriment of consumers. However, the economic justification for an explicit policy of consumer protection is far less uniform. In the past, the standard approach to explain consumer behavior and to justify government consumer protection derived from information economics. However, the fact that consumer protection based solely on information economics has been repeatedly criticized in recent years points to the need for a broader theoretical foundation of consumer protection policy. Against this background, the article aims at broadening the perspective of an economically based consumer policy by resorting to institutional economic as well as behavioral economic considerations, which will be contrasted with each other in their respective insights.