Is cost–benefit analysis a foreign language?

Abstract

Do people think better in a foreign language? In some ways, yes. There is considerable evidence to this effect, at least to the extent that they are less likely to rely on intuitions that can lead to serious errors. This finding reinforces, and makes more plausible, a central claim in regulatory policy, which involves the value of cost–benefit analysis. In a sense, cost–benefit analysis is a foreign language, and it reduces the risk that people will rely on intuitions that cause serious errors.