Advances in behavioral economics: paradigm shift towards a humanistic economics

Abstract

The objective of the study is to offer a critical review, of scope and limits of content, on the development of behavioral economics, with attention to the Ibero-American contributions to overcome the biases of the Neoclassical Synthesis and thus rehumanize the study of economics, so a bibliometric study was developed in the Scopus database, comprising more than a thousand articles related to behavioral economics. With the metadata obtained a descriptive analysis has been made, plus bibliometric maps using VosViewer software, to present the thematic connections. Thus, it can be seen that there is a growing trend in scientific production in this field, and that the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom are the leading countries with a greater number of researches and of greater impact, influencing theoretical and applied developments. The most cited research is focused on the generation of scientific knowledge that contributes to achieving objectives of social interest, which is precisely where behavioral economics must go in order to achieve a more humane economy. There is an incipient participation of researchers from Latin American countries, especially in Scopus Q1-rated journals, which could represent an advance in innovation that could translate into a paradigmatic change, if governments and public policy designers seek an economy less focused on production and GDP growth, and rather focused on human satisfaction.