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An accidental behavioural economist cannot help himself
In which the author is reminded of the importance of questioning one’s intuitions — even if well-informed — and assumptions, and of what ultimately is behind many of our decisions
Without a pandemic throwing a spanner in the works, we were ready for our annual summer trip to our native lands, and once again, your correspondent could not help himself making a few behavioural observations.
When it comes to car parking, time is money… or is it?
The car parking arrangements in the seaside town where we always spend a long weekend have been gradually changing over the years. Spaces, especially for on-street parking, are a scarce resource that inevitably ends up being rationed. In the olden days, there few restrictions, so most spaces ended up being allocated to those who were early, those who were lucky, or those who had been early or lucky and subsequently never moved their car.
Now, every street, from the waterfront until a couple of miles inland has restricted parking. In the red zone nearest the sea, parking is metered (and pretty expensive, at €2.50/hour (£2.10, $2.50) between 9am and 7pm, signalling it’s not intended for…
