#  Bnaya Dreyfuss (Alesina Seminar) 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **September 25, 2025** 

 04:30PM - 05:45PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

 **CGIS Knafel room K354**  



 

 



 

## Speaker & Title

Bnaya Dreyfuss (Harvard), "Equilibrium Neglect and Political Feasibility"

## Abstract

When voters underappreciate the equilibrium effects of policies, efficient reforms become politically infeasible. I develop a general framework of equilibrium neglect, and use this framework to construct a portable and generally applicable remedy. Using off-path contingent rebates, a social planner can generate a policy that (i) implements the social optimum, (ii) is budget balanced—on and off the equilibrium path—and (iii) is politically feasible even in the presence of equilibrium-neglecting voters. Analyzing existing data, I show that post-implementation surges in public support for congestion pricing are driven by frequent commuters who learn about its equilibrium benefits. In a novel survey experiment on congestion pricing with a large probability sample from six US metros, I show that respondents are overly pessimistic about traffic-reduction effects of congestion pricing, which correlates with strong opposition to the policy. Adding contingent compensation that pays if traffic remains high significantly increases public support, especially among potential compensation recipients. Turning to the supply side of policymaking, I survey civil servants and US state legislators. Both groups recognize my proposed remedy’s public appeal, and legislators’ own support for congestion pricing increases; civil servants, however, show a preference for more conventional tools.



 

Co-sponsored by FAS and IQSS, the Alberto Alesina Seminar on Political Economy supports research-related activities that integrate the study of economics and politics, whether by studying economic behavior in the political process or political behavior in the marketplace. In general, positive political economy is concerned with showing how observed differences among institutions affect political and economic outcomes in various social, economic, and political systems and how the institutions themselves change and develop in response to individual and collective beliefs, preferences, and strategies.

All interested faculty and students are invited to attend.



 

 



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 See also:- [ Alesina Seminar on Political Economy ](/program/seminar-political-economy)
 
 

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