The gentle push:
architectures of choice
Nudging
example: A HEALTHY DIET FOR ALL CITIZENS
COMMAND AND CONTROL:
It is forbidden
It is required
MONETARY INCENTIVE:
Bonuses and penalties
NUDGING:
No commands nor monetary incentives.
Just making the choice easier
Nudging
COMMAND AND CONTROL:
It is forbidden to sell fatty foods
It is required to sell fruits and vegetable
MONETARY INCENTIVE:
Bonuses and penalties tax on fat content of food, subsidy for
growing fruits and vegetables
NUDGING:
No commands nor monetary incentives.
Just making the choice easier
Place fruits and vegetable at the beginning of the store/restaurant in
a visible position, easy to reach and place fatty food further away
Nudging
COMMAND AND CONTROL:
It is forbidden to sell fatty foods
It is required to sell fruits and vegetable
MONETARY INCENTIVE:
Bonuses and penalties tax on fat content of food, subsidy for
growing fruits and vegetables
NUDGING:
No commands nor monetary incentives.
Just making the choice easier
Place fruits and vegetable at the beginning of the store/restaurant in
a visible position, easy to reach and place fatty food further away
Nudging
Toilets
The fly drawing reduces spilling of about 80 per cent
Liberal Paternalism
Paternalism:
Some make choices that are not in their best interest.
Through nudging, they can avoid these mistakes .
Liberal:
Let all choices open to citizens
Avoids to impose a solution “one-size-fits-all” to everyone
It is anyway hard to adopt architecture of choice that are “neutral”
Examples of policies inspired
by behavioral economics
 Default rules
 Disclosure requirements
Default rules
Default rules
Example: Organ donation
Explicit Consent: those who want to become donor can
express her will through a series of steps
In Iowa (US) one can mark a form so that the donor status
will be written on the drivers’ licence

Only 64% of those who in a survey diclared to be
personally available to be donors had actually mark the space
in the form.
Organ availability is much lower than demand.
What can be done?

Default rules
Example: Organ donation
Forced donation: the State can take the organs of dead
individuals or individuals in terminal conditions without asking
permission to anyone
This principle could save many human lives.
No State every adopted this policy. Although some States do
it for eye tissues (Georgia).
Default rules
Example: Organ donation
Default permission: we presume that alla citizens agree to
be organ donors; however, those who want to do so they can
easily register their refusal to donate their organs.
The easier it is to record the refusal, the more this policy is
respectful of individual freedom.
This has similarities to explicit consent: those who have
preferences that are different from the default rule have to
record their will of not participating. This policy reverses the
default rule.
Organ donations
Neutral framing
Implicit permission
Changing your
Choice is very
easy
Explicit Consensus
Online survey: are you willing to donate your organs?
Johnson e Goldstein (2003)
Organ donations
Online survey: are you willing to donate your organs?
Johnson e Goldstein (2003)
In your State all citizens
are considers by default
NOT
DONORS
DONORS
NO
DEFAULT
Organ donations
Online survey: are you willing to donate your organs?
Johnson e Goldstein (2003)
In your State all citizens
are considers by default
NOT
DONORS
DONORS
NO
DEFAULT
Organ donations
Online survey: are you willing to donate your organs?
Johnson e Goldstein (2003)
In your State all citizens
are considers by default
NOT
DONORS
DONORS
NO
DEFAULT
Organ donations
Donor frequency in States with Explicit Consent (yellow)
Organ donations
Donor frequency in States with Implicit permission (blue)
Example of public policy:
Internet Explorer Ballot Box
The European Commission sanctioned Microsoft for
violation of anti-competition laws.
In 2010 all Windows-based PCs uses had the option to
adopt a browser different from Explorer so to remove the
forced default of Windows.
Esempio di politica pubblica:
Internet Explorer Ballot Box
1 every 4 users downloaded a different browser.
This made the market more competitive.
Disclosure requirement
Hygene in restaurant kitchens
– California, USA
In 1998 the Los Angeles county has introduced a
certifications for the degree of hygene to be displayed on
the outside door of the restaurant.
Results of inspections
“A” score of 90 – 100
“B” score of 80 – 89
“C” score of 70 – 79
Below 70
Not acceptable
Hygene in restaurant kitchens
California, USA
This disclosure requirement has
-
-
-
-
Improved the results of inspections
Made consumers more aware about hygene in
restaurants
Lowered the number of hospital accesses for
diseases related to food
(Zhe e Leslie, 2003)
Hygene in restaurant kitchens
California, USA
Labels on electronic
equipments
Labels for energy efficiency of
houses
Labels for cars in USA
One can make it even clearer (es. Cost per km)
One can require to placed it near the car plate (social
pressure)
Register of toxic emissions
Nel 1986 negli USA sorge l’obbligo di riferire al governo
nazionale le quantità di sostanze chimiche
potenzialmente dannose (circa 650) che sono state
immesse nell’ambiente o sono in deposito e dove
sono ubicate.
Le informazioni sono online e liberamente consultabili
da qualunque cittadino.


Ha migliorato le performance ambientali delle imprese
Ha scoraggiato imprese inquinanti ad aprire nuove
fabbriche (Powers, 2009)
Register of toxic emissions
Pressione sociale a non inquinare da parte della
cittadinanza e delle associazioni sul territorio
Competizione virtuosa tra le imprese a non finire sulla
“lista nera” delle più inquinanti (cattiva pubblicità)
Uno dei problemi ambientali più imponenti è il
riscaldamento globale del pianeta:
Istituire un registro delle emissioni di gas serra?