blooming edelweiss

 A "nudge" in behavioral economics is a way to manipulate people's choices toward a desired behavior without telling them what to do or forcing them to do it.  The authors of the book, Thaler and Sunstein, are the minds behind the Nudge Effect. Professor Richard Thaler won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics, and Professor Cass Sunstein won the 2018 Holberg Prize for their contributions to understanding how human behavior affects markets. The idea's conceptual underpinning, "Econs vs. humans," assumes that while "econs" always consider the advantages and disadvantages of options before making a decision, humans do not always make perfectly rational decisions. Nudge theory can thus be used to influence people to make better choices and think more clearly.  A situation built around nudges is formally referred to as "libertarian paternalism"; it is paternalistic because it promotes particular behaviors, but libertarian because it protects choi...