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ddejong 's review for:
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness
by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
1 of 2 books recommended by my manager to become familiar with behavioral economics. Thaler and Sunstein propose a system of politics and policy they call "libertarian paternalism" which fundamentally looks to make intentional use of "nudges" to influence behavior for good (while always preserving individual liberty and promoting transparency). The book provides a crash course in how our minds work (overlap with Ariely's Predictably Irrational) and then moves on to specific policy/choice architecture observations and recommendations under the topical umbrellas of money, health, and "freedom" (school, medical malpractice insurance, marriage). Admittedly I wouldn't have picked this up on my own but I learned a lot and really did enjoy it.
Random comment: the argument for privatizing marriage and giving the government the power to license nothing more than a civil union was pretty darn compelling. Not the first time I've heard of this idea but theirs was the most developed argument I've read.
Random comment: the argument for privatizing marriage and giving the government the power to license nothing more than a civil union was pretty darn compelling. Not the first time I've heard of this idea but theirs was the most developed argument I've read.