ASTK18315U Why and How to Nudge - Information-based Governance and Policy Design
NOTICE:
!! The structure of this course will be blended !!
Bachelor student (2017 programme curriculum): 7.5 ECTS
Master student: 7.5 ECTS
Nudging has become the avant-garde of public governance and policy design since Thaler & Sunstein published their roadmap to more ‘health, wealth and happiness’ in 2008. The course will deal with questions of the basic theory and rationality behind nudging, as well as concrete instruments and tools used in concrete nudging interventions and the construction of so-called ‘choice architecture’ across different policy fields. In contrast to the emphasis on behavioral economics and social psychology advanced by the nudging itself, we will proceed from the basic claim that nudging is to a large degree a modified version of the well-known forms information-based approach to policy instrumentation. However, we will also see that nudging interventions present a more radical and potentially innovative approach to information-based policy design. The course is broadly divided into four sections: 1) The behaviorist and experimentalist foundation of the nudging agenda 2) The political theory (libertarian paternalism) and context (third way politics) of the nudging agenda 3) The toolbox of nudging interventions and nudging as governance 4) The use and design of nudging in relation to specific policy problems.
Knowledge:
Students will be able to…
- Identify and define nudging as a distinct approach to public policy design and governance
- Critically assess the basic assumptions, underlying theories and claims of the nudging agenda
Skills:
Students will be able to…
- Design and plan nudging interventions in relation to specific policy problems
- Select, combine and evaluate different nudging tools and techniques
- Critically discuss the value of nudging interventions
Competences:
Students will be able to…
- Contribute to policy development and problem-solving in public and private organizations as ‘choice architects’
- Manage and coordinate relevant stakeholders in nudging interventions
(Indicative)
Thaler, R. H. & C. R. Sunstein. 2009. Nudge – Improving Decisions about Wealth, Health and Happiness, New York: Penguin Books
Sunstein, Cass R. 2014. Why Nudge? The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism. New Haven: Yale University Press
Halpern, David. 2015. Inside the Nudge Unit: How small changes can make a big difference. London: WH Allen
Kahnemann, Daniel. 2011. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
John, Peter. 2016. "Behavioral Approaches: How Nudges Lead to More Intelligent Policy Design." In Contemporary Approaches to Public Policy. Theories, Controverses and Perspectives, eds. Guy B. Peters and Philippe Zittoun. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 113-133
Legget, W. .2014. ‘The politics of behavior change: nudge, neoliberalism and the state’, Policy & Politics, 42(1), 3-19
Hood, Christopher, and Helen Margetts. 2007. The Tools of Government in the Digital Age. Houndsmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
John, P. 2013. All tools are informational now: how information and persuasion define the tools of government. Policy & Politics, 41, 605-20.
Le Grand, J., & New, B. (2015). Government Paternalism. Nanny State or Helpful Friend? Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Madrian, B. C. (2014). APPLYING INSIGHTS FROM BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS TO POLICY DESIGN. Annual review of economics, 6, 663-688.
Szaszi, B., Palinkas, A., Palfi, B., Szollosi, A., & Aczel, B. (2018). A Systematic Scoping Review of the Choice Architecture Movement: Toward Understanding When and Why Nudges Work. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 31(3), 355-366.
Arno, Annelise, and Steve Thomas. 2016. "The efficacy of nudge theory strategies in influencing adult dietary behavior: a systematic review and meta-analysis." BMC Public Health 16: 676, 1-11
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 28
- Total
- 28
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentFree assignment
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Re-exam
Free written assignment
Criteria for exam assesment
- Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
- Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
- Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASTK18315U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterBachelor
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- .
- Course capacity
- ..
- Course is also available as continuing and professional education
- Study board
- Department of Political Science, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Political Science
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinators
- Anders Esmark (2-6f734e7774813c79833c7279)