Universität zu Köln

Großmann, Max Rainer Pascal ORCID: 0000-0002-6152-9042 (2025). Paternalism and Rule-Making: Three Experimental Studies in Political Economy. PhD thesis, Universität zu Köln.

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Abstract

This thesis studies topics in political economy and the economics of freedom using experimental methods, emphasizing the use of conscious human design in shaping modern rules-based institutions. In chapter 1, we study the privacy paradox, a well-known inconsistency between stated and revealed privacy preferences. To test the claim of inconsistency more directly, we introduce a change in the object of analysis by studying how people require others to be careful about data sharing. In chapter 2, I investigate the relationship between decision-makers' knowledge and the autonomy they are granted. Knowledge is revealed to be a decisive determinant of the social contract. In chapter 3, I examine whether softly paternalistic policies can substitute for hard paternalism. In contrast to most economic research, this thesis focuses on the choice between institutions, not equilibrium behavior under given institutional arrangements.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD thesis)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Großmann, Max Rainer Pascal UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-6152-9042 UNSPECIFIED
Contributors:	Contribution Name Email Collaborator Ockenfels, Axel UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-781504
Date:	2025
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Management, Economy and Social Sciences
Divisions:	Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences > Economics > Microeconomics, Institutions and markets > Professorship for Economics
Subjects:	Social sciences Economics
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language Experimental economics English Paternalism English
Date of oral exam:	28 April 2025
Referee:	Name Academic Title Ockenfels, Axel Prof. Dr. Schwerter, Frederik Prof. Dr.
Related URLs:	Author/Lecturer/Editor
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/78150