Free riding problem in the context of behavioral economics

Economics is a significant field of science that guides us in every aspect of our lives. As in many other fields, the science of economics has also advanced over time and has hosted a variety of perspectives. This is especially due to the technological progress in the post-World War II era together with the cognitive revolution, a substantial change that was experienced in economics. This change emerged as a new field in economics called 'Behavioral Economics'. Behavioral economics made it possible to evaluate economics alongside psychology and re-examine the conventional assumptions in economics. Along with behavioral economics, axioms have been reached such that an individual does not always make rational decisions, decisions are not always based on complete information and emotions can influence the decisions taken. This thesis explains what behavioral economics is, together with its historical process. Simultaneously the rational behavioral problem of freeriding of public goods is also discussed. It's analyzed from the perspective of behavioral economics, when individuals display this behavior and when they don't. For this thesis, a survey was conducted with the residents in the district Şahinbey in Gaziantep province. Statistical analysis of the data obtained from the survey confirms the assumptions put forward by behavioral economics.