Human Agency and Behavioral Economics: Nudging Fast and Slow

by Cass R. Sunstein

Overview

This Palgrave Pivot offers comprehensive evidence about what people actually think of “nudge” policies designed to steer decision makers’ choices in positive directions. The data reveal that people in diverse nations generally favor nudges by strong majorities, with a preference for educative efforts – such as calorie labels - that equip individuals to make the best decisions for their own lives. On the other hand, there are significant arguments for noneducational nudges – such as automatic enrollment in savings plans - as they allow people to devote their scarce time and attention to their most pressing concerns.  The decision to use either educative or noneducative nudges raises fundamental questions about human freedom in both theory and practice. Sunstein's findings and analysis offer lessons for those involved in law and policy who are choosing which method to support as the most effective way to encourage lifestyle changes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319558073
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	05/05/2017
Series:	Palgrave Advances in Behavioral Economics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	116
File size:	498 KB

About the Author

Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University, USA. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. Suntstein has written numerous books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler, 2008) and Why Nudge?: The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism (2014).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Agency and Control2. People Like Nudges (Mostly)3. People Prefer Educative Nudges (Kind Of)4. How to Choose5. “What Route Would You Like Me To Take?” Paternalists Who Force Choices

Editorial Reviews

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2017

“This is a must-have volume for a collection in behavioral economics. … Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.” (M. H. Lesser, Choice, Vol. 55 (4), December, 2017)

From the Publisher