Handbook of Operant Behavioral Economics

The field of behavioral economics is booming with exponential growth across science, practice, and policy designs. Operant behavioral economics is a specific approach that integrates operant learning and microeconomic principles to understand how environmental constraints impact consumption of goods and services that may function as rewards. This approach has become a major component in behavioral pharmacology, behavioral medicine, and applied behavior analysis. Handbook of Operant Behavioral Economics Demand, Discounting, Methods, and Applications covers two major domains of operant behavioral economics: operant demand and reward discounting. This book reviews the historical foundations of this approach, both human and nonhuman research methods for studying demand and discounting, quantitative modeling of these processes, and educational and clinical applications. The last section provides the readers with a specific discussion on how to begin translating these concepts to policy development and resources for starting a line of research in these areas. Written for graduate students, clinicians, and academics, Handbook of Operant Behavioral Economics Demand, Discounting, Methods, and Applications serves as a resource for readers both new to behavioral economics and those with specific expertise in the field.

• Includes practical guidance on best practices for conducting behavioral economic studies and analyses
• Reviews quantitative models of operant demand and discounting
• Outlines resources for beginning lines of operant behavioral economic research
• Establishes contemporary discussions of behavioral economics and implications for application