Should the Government Invest More in Nudging?

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Business economics - Economic Policy, grade: 1, Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, language: English, abstract: Nudging - the concept of decision-guiding elements which preserve the choice-liberty of individuals - is what Richard Thaler describes optimistically at the Nobel Talks in Stockholm to be a trend not just in science, but also among private and public stakeholders. Especially the curiosity of governments has been aroused with respect to use nudging as a tool that influences people's choices through policies that offer the right incentive or hurdle so that people choose the more economically beneficial options. The development of nudging as a governmental approach highlights the relevance of this concept while simultaneously increases the need to understand, why such measures might be justified or not. Consequently, this essay seeks to tackle this circumstance and tries to answer the question that has been raised in the past: Should governments invest in nudging? Before opposing the positive arguments to negative ones, it is indispensable to describe nudging in more detail and to understand where it originated from. After having done that, the essay guides argumentatively through the research question and presents an answer. Finally, the author offers a prospective outlook to what might come next.