Nudging

Nudging is a controversial technique for changing people’s behaviours. It burst into public consciousness in the early 2000s with the launch of “nudge units” and departments in government. Its use as a policy tool is particularly polarizing as it raises moral and constitutional issues about freedom of choice and coercion.

Mark Whitehead and Rhys Jones consider how the nudge as a mechanism for policy implementation came about and why it gives rise to such strong feelings. They explain what a...