Until recently, economics conceived of poverty solely as a lack of material resources. This view likely captures the reality of poverty experienced by many people around the globe. However, two waves of behavioral economics demonstrate that the narrowing of people’s external environments may change people themselves: poverty lowers the quality of decision-making and poverty and oppression may depress the capacity to aspire. Poverty and a history of oppression also change how individuals are perceived. To overcome these effects may require helping people acquire new mental models. This essay discusses key findings from behavioral economics, the implications for agency, and some interventions with promising outcomes. We hope to inspire scholars and policymakers to think more deeply about the nature of poverty and oppression and to consider policies that target the psychological and sociological factors that create cycles of poverty.

中文翻译：

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利用行为经济学减少贫困和压迫

直到最近，经济学仍将贫困仅仅视为物质资源的缺乏。这种观点可能反映了全球许多人所经历的贫困现实。然而，行为经济学的两波浪潮表明，人们外部环境的缩小可能会改变人们本身：贫困降低了决策质量，贫困和压迫可能会抑制追求的能力。贫困和受压迫的历史也会改变人们对个人的看法。为了克服这些影响可能需要帮助人们获得新的思维模式。本文讨论了行为经济学的主要发现、对代理的影响以及一些有希望结果的干预措施。我们希望激励学者和政策制定者更深入地思考贫困和压迫的本质，并考虑针对造成贫困循环的心理和社会学因素的政策。