Behavioral science is playing an increasing role in public policy, and it is raising new questions about fundamental issues - the role of government, freedom of choice, paternalism, and human welfare. In diverse nations, public officials are using behavioral findings to combat serious problems - poverty, air pollution, highway safety, COVID-19, discrimination, employment, climate change, and occupational health. Exploring theory and practice, this Element attempts to provide one-stop shopping for those who are new to the area and for those who are familiar with it. With reference to nudges, taxes, mandates, and bans, it offers concrete examples of behaviorally informed policies. It also engages the fundamental questions, include the proper analysis of human welfare in light of behavioral findings. It offers a plea for respecting freedom of choice - so long as people's choices are adequately informed and free from behavioral biases.
Author(s): Cass R. Sunstein
Series: Elements in Public Economics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 75
City: Cambridge
Title page
Copyright page
Behavioral Science and Public Policy
Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Behavioral Revolution
Nudges and Well Beyond Nudges
Humans and Econs
3 Do Our Choices Make Us Happy?
Mispredicting Adaptation
Our Biased Learning from the Past
Our Current Emotional State
The Power of Context
4 Government
Feast
Institutionalizing Behavioral Insights: Two Approaches
Default Rules
Why They Matter
Savings
School Meals
Finance
Health Care
Payroll Statements
Disclosure
Nutrition
Credit Cards
Health Care
Fuel Economy
Disclosure and Competition
Structuring Choices
Salience
Social Norms, Safety, and Health
5 Mistakes
Welfare, Sometimes
6 Judgments
Means Paternalism
Differences of Opinion
7 Theory and Practice
Indirect Judgments Everywhere
Defining Direct Judgments
8 Welfare
What People Care About
9 Freedom
Transparency and Manipulation
Of Easy Reversibility
Shoves
10 Paths Forward
References
Acknowledgments
