Overview

Two leading academics explain where behavioural science went wrong and argue we should stop blaming personal failure for society's ills 'A stirring call to action' - TIM HARFORD 'A masterclass' - DARON ACEMOGLU 'An excellent book' - NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB Two decades ago, behavioral economics burst from academia to the halls of power, on both sides of the Atlantic, with the promise that correcting individual biases could help transform society. The hope was that governments could deploy a new approach to addressing society's deepest challenges, from inadequate retirement planning to climate change-gently, but cleverly, nudging people to make choices for their own good and the good of the planet. It was all very convenient, and false. As behavioral scientists Nick Chater and George Loewenstein show in It's On You, nudges rarely work, and divert us from policies that do. For example, being nudged to switch to green energy doesn't cut carbon, and it distracts from the real challenge of building a low-carbon economy. It's on You shows how the rich and powerful have repeatedly used a clever sleight of hand- blaming individuals for social problems, with behavioral economics an unwitting accomplice, while lobbying against the systemic changes that could actually help. As two original proponents of the nudge principle, Nick and George now argue that rather than trying to \""fix\"" the victims of bad policies, real progress requires rewriting the social and economic rulebook for the common good.

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9780753562161

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Reviews

A wise and deeply-researched book and a stirring call to action. It is rare to see such expert thinkers reflect so profoundly on the risks of their own field. -- Tim Harford, Financial Times journalist and author of 'The Undercover Economist' If you believe corporate America, preventing a climate crisis is up to you. Loewenstein and Chater make a convincing case that this is little more than a self-serving lie. -- Eduardo Porter, author of 'The Price of Everything' From two experts in behavioral economics and social psychology, we have a masterclass in how to blend individual psychology with institutions, so that people are encouraged to get involved and develop solutions to our urgent problems via the democratic process. -- Daron Acemoglu, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and co-author of 'Why Nations Fail' This is an excellent book—engaging and well written. The authors convincingly show that in a system with complex interactions, nudge-style interventions at the individual level fail when the problem lies in the structure. -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of 'Incerto', 'The Black Swan' and 'Antifragile' Two of the leading scientists of human decision-making, write that nudges have vastly over-promised and under-delivered. Instead of trying to solve big, systematic problems by marginally changing how individuals respond to perverse incentives, they persuasively advise us to systematically change those incentives with the tools of government and democracy. -- Alvin Roth, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of 'Who Gets What – and Why'

Author Information

Nick Chater (Author) Nick Chater is a professor of behavioural science at the Warwick Business School. He was awarded the Rumelhart Prize for lifetime achievement in cognitive science in 2023. Nick has advised the UK Government and co-founded Decision Technology, a research consultancy. George Loewenstein (Author) George Loewenstein is one of the founders of behavioural economics, neuroeconomics, and behavioural public policy. He is one of the world's most highly cited economists. He is currently the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. George has advised many leading companies and government bodies.

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