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    How Your Values Shape Economic Policy Choices

    17 min
    |
    |
    Nov 24, 2025
    EconomicsPoliticsSociety

    Discover why economic policy isn't about rational self-interest-it's about competing values and visions of society. Explore fascinating research on how our deepest beliefs drive everything from tax preferences to climate action.

    How Your Values Shape Economic Policy Choices

    Best quote from How Your Values Shape Economic Policy Choices

    “

    Economic policy isn't really about economics in the narrow sense; it's about values, relationships, and competing visions of what kind of society we want to live in.

    ”

    This audio lesson was created by a BeFreed community member

    Input question

    Econimic values impact on

    Host voices
    Lenaplay
    Eliplay
    Knowledge sources
    Licence to Be Bad
    A Matter of Values: On the Link Between Economic Performance and Schwartz Human Values
    link
    https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jbnst-2023-0065/html?srsltid=AfmBOooGYZo9aFu3wZQJcjucU-gidZvtsY-yllfhE5F9iAueDFAQKUhX
    Beyond selfishness: the interaction of income and human values in shaping Europeans' ideology
    link
    https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/120623/
    Policy paradox
    Predictably Irrational
    Perceptions, Mindsets and Beliefs Shaping Policy views 2024 ...
    link
    https://socialeconomicslab.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Stantcheva_Economica_Coase_Lecture.pdf

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    "Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

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    "Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

    @Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
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    "Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

    @djmikemoore
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    "BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

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    Celebrities' reading list
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    Featured Topics
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    Best books by Year
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    Key Takeaways

    1

    Opening & Welcome

    0:00
    0:15
    0:40
    2

    Topic Introduction & Source Material Setup

    0:56
    1:21
    1:42
    1:58
    2:18
    3

    The Myth of Rational Economic Actors

    2:31
    2:46
    3:02
    3:21
    3:38
    4:02
    4

    Values as Economic Drivers

    4:21
    4:39
    4:59
    5:19
    0:40
    6:03
    5

    The Policy Paradox: When Logic Isn't Enough

    6:20
    6:38
    6:56
    4:02
    7:35
    7:51
    6

    The Psychology of Policy Preferences

    8:12
    8:26
    8:45
    3:21
    9:21
    9:38
    9:57
    7

    Climate Policy and Value-Based Decision Making

    10:15
    10:29
    10:45
    11:03
    11:20
    4:02
    11:54
    8

    Practical Applications and Listener Takeaways

    12:20
    2:46
    12:46
    3:21
    13:22
    13:44
    14:02
    4:02
    9

    Wrap-up & Closing Reflection

    14:38
    14:56
    0:40
    15:32
    15:48
    16:11
    16:23
    16:43
    17:05

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