Nudges and norms: on the political economy of soft paternalism
This paper discusses soft (or libertarian) paternalism, as proposed among others by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). It is argued that soft paternalism should not be understood as an efficiency-enhancing, but as a redistributive concept. The relationship between soft paternalism and social norms is discu...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| In: |
European journal of political economy
Year: 2011, Volume: 28, Issue: 2, Pages: 266-277 |
| ISSN: | 1873-5703 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2011.12.001 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2011.12.001 Verlag, Volltext: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176268011001480 
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| Author Notes: | Jan Schnellenbach |
| Summary: | This paper discusses soft (or libertarian) paternalism, as proposed among others by Thaler and Sunstein (2008). It is argued that soft paternalism should not be understood as an efficiency-enhancing, but as a redistributive concept. The relationship between soft paternalism and social norms is discussed in detail. In particular, it is argued that soft paternalism increases the stability of given social norms, which in turn need not be efficient, nor in the material self-interest of a majority of individuals. Soft paternalism is argued to be an essentially conservative concept of policy-making in the sense that it tends to increase the longevity of status quo social norms. |
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| Item Description: | Available online 24 December Gesehen am 03.07.2018 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1873-5703 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2011.12.001 |