Toward a theory of behavioral public administration

Abstract

The connection between public administration and behavioral economics goes back to Herbert Simon, who recognized the tension between the institutional demands of rational efficiency and the reality of individuals’ alternate objectives. There is now a concentrated research push at the intersection of behavioral economics and governance, following recently publicized evidence of favorable synergies. Public administration can use behavioral economics in a variety of implementations, from boosting public service motivation to improving policy compliance. This article reviews the current discourse on the development of behavioral public administration, describes some dominant concepts currently being applied, and then offers a framework with propositions for a theory of behavioral public administration in order to enable further experimental inquiry and inform better governance. Points for practitioners Behavioral public administration is a developing theory that may enable practitioners to employ alternative approaches to policy design and implementation. Using concepts of behavioral economics that describe individual decision-making with alternative objectives to traditional utility maximization, behavioral public administration shifts the reliance on traditional causal models away from rational ideals and toward actual behaviors that inhabit empirically evident biases.