Question

What are some of the critiques addressing traditional economic model? What could be a major drawback of behavioral economics when it is applied to health? 

Answer 1

In health care people usually make decisions which are not in their best interest, wherein in health insurance ranging from failing to enrol to which they are entitled, to engaging in very harmful behaviours. The traditional economic model provides a limited tool kit for enhancing the behaviour because it is based on the assumption that individuals make decisions in a rational approach, have the mental capacity in dealing with huge amounts of choice and information, and have endemic tastes to them and not open for the manipulation. Melding economics with psychology in health care, the approach of the behavioural economics acknowledges that individuals usually do not act rationally in the economic approach. It thus provides a potentially richer tools set than provided by traditional economic model to influence and understand the behaviours.

The incorporating insights from behavioural economics to the health has the potential to enhance the population health, its integration into government public health policies and programs needs a careful design and it's continual evaluation for any interventions. However it has it's own limitations. Behavioural economics can be a risk and act as a slippery slope to paternalism because it argues that own interest of individual’s to have their choices to be restricted by government. Thus it can help people to make better choices, however presupposes that policymakers know better than people what is in the people own interest. These can be difficult to delineate when such interventions become coercive