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‘Better off, as judged by themselves’: a reply to Cass Sunstein

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  • Robert Sugden

    (University of East Anglia)

Abstract

This paper is a reply to Sunstein’s comment on my paper ‘Do people really want to be nudged towards healthy lifestyles?’ The central claim of that paper was that, in their book Nudge, Thaler and Sunstein switch between two different interpretations of the ‘better off, as judged by themselves’ criterion, and that consistent use of one or other interpretation would have blunted the persuasive power of the book. In this reply, I defend that claim against Sunstein’s counter-arguments.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Sugden, 2018. "‘Better off, as judged by themselves’: a reply to Cass Sunstein," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 65(1), pages 9-13, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:65:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s12232-017-0281-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s12232-017-0281-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gerardo Infante & Guilhem Lecouteux & Robert Sugden, 2016. "Preference purification and the inner rational agent: a critique of the conventional wisdom of behavioural welfare economics," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 1-25, March.
    2. James F. M. Cornwell & David H. Krantz, 2014. "Public policy for thee, but not for me: Varying the grammatical person of public policy justifications influences their support," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 9(5), pages 433-444, September.
    3. Jung, Janice Y. & Mellers, Barbara A., 2016. "American attitudes toward nudges," Judgment and Decision Making, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 62-74, January.
    4. Janice Y. Jung & Barbara A. Mellers, 2016. "American attitudes toward nudges," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 11(1), pages 62-74, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Romain Cadario & Pierre Chandon, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Post-Print hal-02508983, HAL.
    2. Cadario, Romain & Chandon, Pierre, 2019. "Viewpoint: Effectiveness or consumer acceptance? Tradeoffs in selecting healthy eating nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1-6.
    3. Steven J. Humphrey & Nadia-Yasmine Kruse, 2024. "Who accepts Savage’s axiom now?," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Samuel De La Cruz Solal, 2025. "Co-design of Behavioural Public Policies: Epistemic Promises and Challenges," GREDEG Working Papers 2025-05, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    5. D. Wade Hands, 2020. "Libertarian paternalism: taking Econs seriously," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 67(4), pages 419-441, December.
    6. Diane Coyle & Mark Fabian & Eric Beinhocker & Tim Besley & Margaret Stevens, 2023. "Is it time to reboot welfare economics? Overview," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 109-121, June.
    7. Anne Corcos, 2023. "How nudges and marketing, frame time preference “for your own good”: a behavioral model," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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