Do people really want to be nudged towards healthy lifestyles?

Robert Sugden

International Review of Economics, 2017, vol. 64, issue 2, No 2, 113-123

Abstract: Abstract This paper assesses Thaler and Sunstein’s claim that policies that nudge individuals towards healthy lifestyles promote the welfare of those individuals, as judged by themselves. I argue that Thaler and Sunstein switch between two different interpretations of that clause. One interpretation gives the clause a wide range of applicability, but drains it of its content as a repudiation of paternalism. The other interpretation makes it more meaningful to say that people want to make the choices they are being nudged towards, but applies to a much narrower range of cases than Thaler and Sunstein have in mind.

Keywords: Nudges; Health; Paternalism; Self-control (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D6 I1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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DOI: 10.1007/s12232-016-0264-1

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