Explaining Self‐Interested Behavior of Public‐Spirited Policy Makers
本文基于行为伦理的最新进展，为公共选择理论的成功预测提供了新的行为基础，揭示了善意官员违反道德和社会规范的心理过程，并分析了其对决策和政策的启示。
Public choice theory (PCT) has had a powerful influence on political science and, to a lesser extent, public administration. Based on the premise that public officials are rational maximizers of their own utility, PCT has a quite successful record of correctly predicting governmental decisions and policies. This success is puzzling in light of behavioral findings showing that officials do not necessarily seek to maximize their own utility. Drawing on recent advances in behavioral ethics, this article offers a new behavioral foundation for PCT's predictions by delineating the psychological processes that lead well‐intentioned people to violate moral and social norms. It reviews the relevant findings of behavioral ethics, analyzes their theoretical and policy implications for officials' decision making, and sets an agenda for future research.