Design Failures, Naming, and Market Inertia

When Richard Thaler first published Nudge, the world was just starting to believe in his brand of behavioral economics. In this 2021 episode, we ask: How has nudge theory held up in the face of a global financial meltdown, a pandemic, and other existential crises?

• SOURCES:
  • Richard Thaler, professor of economics at the University of Chicago.

• RESOURCES:
  • Nudge: The Final Edition, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2021).
  • Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do About It, by Cass Sunstein (2021).
  • "Sludge: Americans Spend 11.4 Billion Hours Filling Out Federal Paperwork," by Cass Sunstein (Big Think, 2021).
  • "Carbon Taxation in Sweden," by Government Offices of Sweden Ministry of Finance (2021).
  • "The Climate Club: How to Fix a Failing Global Effort," by William Nordhaus (Foreign Affairs, 2020).
  • "Organ Donation: Presumed Consent and Focusing on What Matters," by Rebecca Brown (The Journal of Medical Ethics Blog, 2017).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Sludge," series by Freakonomics Radio (2025).
  • “People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is Hard. (Ep. 340 Rebroadcast),” by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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