Reading Order
Nudge Reading Order
Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein's Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2008) is the founding text of 'choice architecture' — the argument that the way choices are presented powerfully influences which choices people make, and that we can design better institutions by using that insight to nudge people toward choices that serve their own stated goals.
Where to start
Nudge
Complete Nudge Book List
- 1Buy
Nudge
Richard H. Thaler·2008·The original. Start here. - 2Buy
Misbehaving
Richard H. Thaler·2015·Thaler's memoir of the history of behavioral economics. Read second for the full context of the research behind Nudge. - 3Buy
Nudge: The Final Edition
Richard H. Thaler·2021·A revised and updated edition of Nudge, incorporating developments in behavioral science and policy over the thirteen years since the original. Can substitute for the 2008 edition.
Nudge — Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'libertarian paternalism'?
Thaler and Sunstein coined 'libertarian paternalism' to describe their approach: it is libertarian in that it preserves freedom of choice (people can always opt out of the default) and paternalistic in that it uses the design of choice architectures to nudge people toward choices that the designers believe will benefit them. The paradigmatic example is automatic enrollment in retirement savings plans with opt-out: people can choose not to contribute, but the default enrollment dramatically increases participation rates because most people accept defaults, even when they would prefer the alternative if asked explicitly.
Has the nudge approach been implemented in government?
Yes — the UK government established the Behavioral Insights Team (nicknamed the 'nudge unit') in 2010, based partly on the research in this book; it has since been privatized and operates internationally. The Obama administration established a similar unit in 2015. Nudges have been applied to tax compliance (sending letters that say 'most people in your town pay their taxes on time'), organ donation rates, retirement savings, energy conservation, and many other domains.
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