Bounded rationality is the idea that rationality is limited when individuals make decisions, and under these limitations, rational individuals will select a decision that is satisfactory rather than optimal.
Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Considering the cost of energy services and associated value gives economic meaning to the efficiency at which energy can be produced. Energy services can be defined as functions that generate and provide energy to the “desired end services or states”. The efficiency of energy services is dependent on the engineered technology used to produce and supply energy. The goal is to minimise energy input required to produce the energy service, such as lighting (lumens), heating (temperature) and fuel. The main sectors considered in energy economics are transportation and building, although it is relevant to a broad scale of human activities, including households and businesses at a microeconomic level and resource management and environmental impacts at a macroeconomic level.
Behavioral economics is the study of the psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors involved in the decisions of individuals or institutions, and how these decisions deviate from those implied by classical economic theory.
Cass Robert Sunstein is an American legal scholar known for his work in constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, and behavioral economics. He is also The New York Times best-selling author of The World According to Star Wars (2016) and Nudge (2008). He was the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2012.
Richard H. Thaler is an American economist and the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In 2015, Thaler was president of the American Economic Association.
Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with human behaviour. While the term can technically be applied to the study of behaviour amongst all living organisms, it is nearly always used with reference to humans as the primary target of investigation. The behavioural sciences sit at the interstice between conventionally natural and social sciences, encompassing fields such as psychology, neuroscience and economics.
Fadi Makki is a pioneer in the application of behavioural economics to public policy in the Middle East, where he led a large number of RCTs in policy areas such as healthy life style, compliance and rule of law, sustainability, education and workers’ welfare.
Libertarian paternalism is the idea that it is both possible and legitimate for private and public institutions to affect behavior while also respecting freedom of choice, as well as the implementation of that idea. The term was coined by behavioral economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein in a 2003 article in the American Economic Review. The authors further elaborated upon their ideas in a more in-depth article published in the University of Chicago Law Review that same year. They propose that libertarian paternalism is paternalism in the sense that "it tries to influence choices in a way that will make choosers better off, as judged by themselves" ; note and consider, the concept paternalism specifically requires a restriction of choice. It is libertarian in the sense that it aims to ensure that "people should be free to opt out of specified arrangements if they choose to do so". The possibility to opt out is said to "preserve freedom of choice". Thaler and Sunstein published Nudge, a book-length defense of this political doctrine, in 2008.
Christine M. Jolls is the Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor of Law and Organization at Yale Law School, where she has been since 2006. She is known for her work in the emerging theory of behavioral economics and law. Her areas of research include employment law and contracts.
Choice architecture is the design of different ways in which choices can be presented to decision makers, and the impact of that presentation on decision-making. For example, each of the following:
Kai A. Konrad is a German economist with his main research interest in public economics.
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness is a book written by University of Chicago economist and Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler, and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein, first published in 2008. In 2021, a revised edition was released, subtitled The Final Edition.
Nudge theory is a concept in behavioral economics, decision making, behavioral policy, social psychology, consumer behavior, and related behavioral sciences that proposes adaptive designs of the decision environment as ways to influence the behavior and decision-making of groups or individuals. Nudging contrasts with other ways to achieve compliance, such as education, legislation or enforcement.
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), also known unofficially as the "Nudge Unit", is a UK-based global social purpose organisation that generates and applies behavioural insights to inform policy and improve public services, following nudge theory. Using social engineering, as well as techniques in psychology, behavioral economics, and marketing, the purpose of the organisation is to influence public thinking and decision making in order to improve compliance with government policy and thereby decrease social and government costs related to inaction and poor compliance with policy and regulation. The Behavioural Insights Team has been headed by British psychologist David Halpern since its formation.
Justine Hastings is an American economist, academic, and policy advisor. She is currently a vice president and chief of people-centered science at Amazon and an affiliate professor of economics at the University of Washington. Previously, she served as professor of economics and international and public affairs at Brown University, and as an associate professor of economics at Yale University. Her research focuses on combining economics and big data to solve social problems, spanning topics across education policy, retirement policy, household finance, marketing, competition, antitrust, and environmental regulation.
The Journal of Consumer Policy is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering legal and regulatory issues related to consumer behaviour. It was established in 1977 as the Zeitschrift für Verbraucherpolitik and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. The editors-in-chief are Alan Mathios, Hans-W. Micklitz, Lucia Reisch, John Thøgersen (Aarhus School of Business, and Christian Twigg-Flesner. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Scopus, Inspec, EconLit, ProQuest databases, AGRICOLA, EBSCO databases, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and Research Papers in Economics.
Bettina Stark-Watzinger is a German economist and politician of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) who has been serving as Minister of Education and Research in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet since 2021. She has been a member of the Bundestag from the state of Hesse since 2017.
Katherine L. Milkman is an American economist who is the James G. Dinan endowed Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was previously the President of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.
Joachim von Braun is a German agricultural scientist and currently director of a department of the Center for Development Research at the University of Bonn and President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Sludge in behavioral economics refers to any form of design, administrative, or policy-related friction that systematically impedes individuals' actions or decisions. It encompasses a range of frictions such as complex forms, hidden fees, and manipulative defaults that increase the effort, time, or cost required to make a choice, often benefiting the designer at the expense of the user's interest.
