Green Nudges: Do They Work? Are They Ethical?

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Real-world consumers, though, are motivated by more than incentives and information (Michalek et al. 2015). These are innovative policy tools that are designed with a specific focus on behavioral factors 1 Most economist readers can be assumed to be familiar with the key insights of Behavioral Economics; those interested in the details may be referred to the excellent surveys by Camerer and Loewenstein (2004) and Della Vigna (2009). Van den Bergh et al. (2000) give an outline of behavioral economics insights with a focus on their relevance for environmental economics prior to Nudge. The contributions by Norton et al. (1998) and Söderbaum (1994) are particularly interesting as precursors of the nudge agenda, as they argue that environmental policies should try to exploit endogenous preference change. 2 An important exception to that rule was Jack Knetsch, see, e.g. Knetsch and Sinden (1984), Knetsch (1989 and structured. To nudge someone is to deliberately intervene in a given CA. Nudges are widely regarded as potential complements to more traditional incentive-based regulation; the hope is that adding them to the policy mix may be both more effective and more popular among the general public than relying on traditional regulatory tools alone (Thaler and Sunstein 2008: ch. 12). 6 As Cass Sunstein (2014: 13) puts it, the general aim is to develop "sensible, low-cost policies with close reference to how human beings actually think and behave." There is an important caveat, though: Due to their unclear welfare foundations and the potentially paternalistic and manipulative way in which these tools shape human behavior (viz., by addressing and exploiting cognitive biases), nudges raise complex ethical questions. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor mayThe exact definition of nudges is a matter of some controversy. What's typically offered as a back-of-the-envelope definition -"interventions that influence people's behavior without significantly changing their monetary incentives or coercing them" -is unhelpful, as it also lets the mere provision of information count as a nudge. We rather suggest to follow Hansen (2016) by supplementing this shorthand with the notion, originally advanced by Thaler and Sunstein (2008: 8) To illustrate, the subsidy and tax schemes discussed by Allcott and Taubinsky (2015) in the context of energy efficiency policy qualify as BEP in our sense of the term. 5 See in particular (ibid.: ch. 12) on green nudging, and Sunstein (201...

Nudge: Towards a Consensus View?

“…3 Whether the provision of information should qualify as a nudge has been controversial. 3,11,18 In fact, while rational choices are determined by preferences and constraints under perfect information, rational agents are also responsive to new information under imperfect information (Econs are not necessarily perfectly informed; they just process the available information in a consistent manner). By definition, the provision of information does not forbid any option.…”

Editing out unsustainability from consumption: From information provision to nudging and social practice theory

“…• Changes to default settings that build on people's propensity to stick with the status quo or the situation that requires the least effort (or to consider the default as some kind of official endorsement; see Schubert, 2017). For example, green electricity can be offered by default.…”

“…Some psychologists have questioned the basic argument of libertarian paternalism -the notion of cognitive biases -and emphasize the inevitability and benefits of cognitive heuristics instead (Gigerenzer and Gaissmaier, 2011). However, this in itself would not call into question the use of nudges in a sustainable consumption context where nudges can be deemed non-paternalistic: that is, their aim is to promote social welfare and internalize environmental externalities rather than guide people towards their own (presumed) interests (Nagatsu, 2015;Schubert, 2017). 2 From this perspective, social nudges are no different from other types of institutions that solve social dilemmas (Nagatsu, 2015).…”

“…From the perspective of treating consumers as citizens, moreover, the picture concerning nudges is mixed. Schubert (2017) has argued that when implemented in a transparent and democratic fashion, nudges might enhance citizen awareness of the hidden commercial manipulation shaping our decisions. Yet as a social engineering solution, nudging also runs the risk of depoliticizing and individualizing sustainability and thus overlooking the deeper socio-cultural roots of environmental and social problems (Schubert 2017…”

Nudging Farmers to Comply With Water Protection Rules – Experimental Evidence From Germany

“…Nudges are particularly popular in the 16 research field of health economics when it comes to teaching people healthy eating habits (Arno and 17 Thomas, 2016). But also in the area of environmental policy, so-called "green nudges" are 18 increasingly being researched (Croson and Treich, 2014;Schubert, 2017). 19…”