what is the difference between normative and behavioral economics 
behavioral economics is a discipline that studies the psychological factors that influence the behavior of economic actors this is closely related to normative economics which often uses the tools of behavioral economics to change the way humans make decisions a simple example is a decision to place healthy fruit near the cash register of a high school cafeteria by placing the healthy option in a prominent location students are subtly encouraged to make the healthier decision the bottom linenormative economics aims to reach desirable outcomes unlike positive economics normative thinking is explicitly value driven and based on the ideology and preferences of each individual economist this type of economic thinking is often used by policymakers to influence the behavior of consumers and the public 