Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and HappinessA New York Times bestseller with more than 1.5 million copies sold Named a Best Book of the Year by the Economist and the Financial Times “An essential read . . . loaded with good ideas that financial-service executives, policy makers, Wall Street mavens, and all savers can use.”—John F. Wasik, Boston Globe “Save the planet, save yourself. Do-gooders, policymakers, this one's for you.”—Newsweek Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nobel laureate Richard Thaler and legal scholar and bestselling author Cass Sunstein explain in this important exploration of choice architecture that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, the family, and even the planet itself. In Nudge, Thaler and Sunstein invite us to enter an alternative world, one that takes our humanness as a given. They show that by knowing how people think, we can design choice environments that make it easier for people to choose what is best for themselves, their families, and their society. Using colorful examples from the most important aspects of life, Thaler and Sunstein demonstrate how thoughtful “choice architecture” can be established to nudge us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice. Nudge offers a unique new take—from neither the left nor the right—on many hot-button issues, for individuals and governments alike. This is one of the most engaging and provocative books to come along in many years. |
From inside the book
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... effects . Open stairwells , for example , may produce more workplace inter- action and more walking , and both of these are probably desirable . And just as a building architect must eventually build some particular building , a choice ...
... effects on outcomes, from increasing savings to improving health care to providing organs for lifesav- ing transplant operations. The effects of well-chosen default options provide just one illustration of the gentle power of nudges. In ...
... , and in which feedback is slow or infrequent—say, in choosing between fruit and ice cream (where the long-term effects are INTRODUCTION 10 slow and feedback is poor) or in choosing YD8883.001-014 1/24/08 12:19 PM Page 9.
... effects, and in some contexts, these forms of neutrality are unattractive; we shall encounter many examples. Some people will happily accept this point for private institutions but strenuously object to government efforts to influence ...
... effect is pervasive . Ninety percent of all drivers think they are above average behind the wheel , even if they don't live in Lake Wobegon . And nearly everyone ( including some who are rarely seen smil- ing ) thinks he has an above ...
Contents
2 | |
6 | |
17 | |
40 | |
53 | |
When Do We Need a Nudge? | 72 |
Choice Architecture | 81 |
MONEY | 93 |
Smorgasbord Style | 145 |
Part D for Daunting | 159 |
How to Increase Organ Donations | 175 |
Saving the Planet | 183 |
Improving School Choices | 199 |
Should Patients Be Forced to Buy Lottery Tickets? | 207 |
Privatizing Marriage | 215 |
PART V | 227 |
Save More Tomorrow | 103 |
Naïve Investing | 118 |
Credit Markets | 132 |
Objections | 236 |
The Real Third Way | 252 |
Other editions - View all
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness Richard H. Thaler No preview available - 2008 |