Dark Side of Nudges

Nudging has gained popularity in recent years, but questions remain about its effectiveness in policy-making. This book offers a critical approach to the study of nudging, highlighting its foundations, rationale, and effects in the neoliberal age of behavioural economics. It argues that nudging policies focus on methodological individualism and fail to address the complex social and economic challenges of globalization. The book encourages the public to consider new ideas about the darker side of behavioural economics.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 108 pages
Publication date: 31 March 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The concept of nudging has garnered significant attention in recent years due to the implementation of nudge policies in various parts of the world, the establishment of behavioral policy units in some countries, and the recognition of behavioral economist Richard Thaler with the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017. Nonetheless, there are ongoing debates about the effectiveness of nudging as a policy-making approach.

This book offers a critical examination of nudging to shed light on the foundations, rationales, and implications of current policy-making trends in the neoliberal age of behavioral economics. The author challenges the methodological foundations of behavioral economics and explores their consequences for addressing the profound social and economic policy challenges of our time. It is argued that while the nudge concept proposed by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein rejects the strict rationality models of economic behavior, nudging policies emphasize methodological individualism in economic thinking and policy.

The complexity of the social and economic policy problems of the twenty-first century necessitates a reevaluation of our conceptual perspectives and a heightened awareness of the limitations of methodological individualism in addressing the unprecedented social, political, and environmental challenges of globalization. This book provides a fresh take on the epistemological assumptions underlying behaviorally-informed policies, encouraging the general public to consider alternative ideas about the darker side of behavioral economics.

Weight: 160g
Dimension: 137 x 214 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367787974