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Nudges, Regulations and Liberty

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  • Dowding, Keith
  • Oprea, Alexandra

Abstract

Nudge advocates contend that nudges are liberty preserving, while government regulations are not. We interrogate that assumption by considering negative liberty in the forms suggested by the proponents of nudges. Specifically, we examine three ways of measuring negative liberty – liberty as freedom of choice, liberty as absence of coercion and liberty as absence of interference – applying the measures to a case study relevant to the nudge literature: regulations governing healthy food manufacture. We show that, depending on the liberty measure adopted and the estimated impact on producer and consumer behaviour, some regulations can be liberty reducing, while others are liberty preserving or liberty enhancing. When it comes to comparing nudges and more traditional policies aimed at increasing the health and welfare of citizens, there is no a priori negative liberty ground for preferring nudges.

Suggested Citation

  • Dowding, Keith & Oprea, Alexandra, 2023. "Nudges, Regulations and Liberty," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 204-220, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:bjposi:v:53:y:2023:i:1:p:204-220_11
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    Cited by:

    1. Oliver Braganza & Jakob Kapeller, 2025. "Reappraising consumption nudging—on liberty in the age of climate catastrophe," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Peter John & Aaron Martin & Gosia Mikołajczak, 2023. "Support for behavioral nudges versus alternative policy instruments and their perceived fairness and efficacy," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(2), pages 363-371, April.
    3. Marteau, Theresa M. & Mantzari, Eleni & Hollands, Gareth J., 2025. "Do nudges need a regulatory push? Comparing the effectiveness and implementation of exemplar nudge (size-based) and non-nudge (price-based) dietary interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 373(C).
    4. Florian Spitzer & Kira Abstiens & Sophie Karmasin, 2025. "Integrating behavioural insights in the policy process: on chances and hurdles identified by policy-makers and behavioural scientists," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 24(2), pages 621-663, December.

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