Sugden, R. (2009) On nudging:A review of nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 16 (3). pp. 365-373. ISSN 1357-1516

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Abstract

This paper reviews the case for libertarian paternalism presented by Thaler and Sunstein in Nudge. Thaler and Sunstein argue that individuals' preferences are often incoherent, making paternalism is unavoidable; however, paternalistic interventions should 'nudge' individuals without restricting their choices, and should nudge them towards what they would have chosen had they not been subject to specific limitations of rationality. I argue that the latter criterion provides inadequate guidance to nudgers. It is inescapably normative, and so allows nudgers' conceptions of well-being to override those of nudgees. Even if nudgees' rationality were unbounded, their revealed preferences might still be incoherent.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	libertarian paternalism,soft paternalism,nudging
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Economics
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Economic Theory Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Competition Policy Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Behavioural Economics
Related URLs:	https://www.scopus.com/pages/publication...
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Nov 2013 16:14
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 14:16
URI:	https://uea-test-2026.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/44504
DOI:	10.1080/13571510903227064

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