Journal of Economic Geography Advance Access published online on January 10, 2008
Journal of Economic Geography, doi:10.1093/jeg/lbm048
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Re-engaging with rationality in economic geography: behavioural approaches and the importance of context in decision-making
*School of Geography, Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, England. email < kendra.strauss{at}geog.ox.ac.uk>
Behavioural approaches have become mainstream in economics, supported by the research of cognitive scientists and psychologists, yet their findings have attracted little attention from geographers. This article argues for a renewed behavioural economic geography that builds on research in behavioural economics but also addresses one of its main shortcomings: a lack of engagement with the social context of decision-making. I outline a research agenda that bridges the gap between the disciplines in the area of pension decision-making, using the example of choice in UK occupational plans to argue for a mixed methodological approach to meet the challenge of taking context seriously.
Keywords: behavioural geography, rationality, pensions, decision-making,
JEL classifications: I38, J18, J38, D81
Date submitted: 2 May 2006
Date accepted: 20 November 2007