Nudging Healthy Lifestyles Informing Regulatory Governance with Behavioural Research

Alberto Alemanno, On Amir, Luc Bovens, Adam Burgess, Orly Lobel, Kyle Powys Whyte and Evan Selinger
Additional contact information
Alberto Alemanno: GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
On Amir: Rady School of Management - UC San Diego - University of California [San Diego] - UC - University of California
Orly Lobel: Harvard Law School - Harvard University, School of Law - University of San Diego
Kyle Powys Whyte: Department of Philosophy - Michigan State University [East Lansing] - Michigan State University System
Evan Selinger: Department of Philosophy - RIT - Rochester Institute of Technology

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: At a time when policy makers want to change the behaviour of citizens to tackle a broad range of social problems, such as climate change, excessive drinking, obesity and crime, a promising new policy approach has appeared that seems capable of escaping the liberal reservations typically associated with all forms of regulatory action. The approach, which stems from the increasingly ubiquitous findings of behavioural research, is generally captured under the evocative concept of 'nudge.' Inspired by 'libertarian paternalism,' it suggests that the goal of public policies should be to steer citizens towards making positive decisions as individuals and for society while preserving individual choice. As governments are taking considerable interest in the use of 'nudging,' this collection of essays provides a pioneering analysis of this innovative policy approach as it is currently experimented in the United Kingdom and the United States. In particular, it aims at critically examining the application of nudging approaches to the current efforts of regulating lifestyle choices, such as tobacco use, excessive use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and lack of physical exercise. In his opening essay, Nudging Healthy Lifestyles, Adam Burgess provides a critical assessment of the introduction of behavioural, nudging approaches to correct lifestyle behaviours in the UK. His thought-provoking analysis triggered a lively debate that has been framed along the subsequent essays signed by On Amir and Orly Lobel, Evan Selinger and Kyle Powys White, Alberto Alemanno and Luc Bovens. Each of these essays critically reflects upon the effectiveness as well as legitimacy of 'nudging' approaches.

Keywords: Nudge; Libertarian Paternalism; Behavioral; Lifestyle; Regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2012, 3 (1), pp.NC

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00715482

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().