BuzzFlash Reviews

BUZZFLASH REVIEWS

Professors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (whose nomination by President Obama to serve as "regulatory czar" overseeing the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is currently being blocked by Saxby Chambliss, R-GA) bring the world of behavioral economics down to a very entertaining and user-friendly plane. Talking about choice architecture, they give concrete examples in chapter after chapter of how real people pick and decide their way through life, sometimes effectively, other times to their own detriment. And they show how we all could be helped to choose more wisely. Sometimes, it's as simple as designing a better form or engineering in a better default option.

Unhappy about your retirement plan choice? This book will help you think about how you picked it and how everyone could be nudged to save (or spend) more money. Eager to save the planet? This book identifies painless ways to help do that.

There's plenty about political choices, too. How about privatizing marriage, fixing Social Security, or simplifying tax returns?

BuzzFlash found much to like in Nudge. It's one of those books that sticks with you, making you more self-aware and alert to possibilities. Our thanks to authors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein for making social science and the forces of bureaucrats (for ill and nil) become clear.

Reviewed by Christine Bowman, BuzzFlash.com

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BUZZFLASH REVIEWS