On Wednesday, November 21, 2018 at 21:01, Mike Eldon argued that governments can influence public behaviour without relying only on bans, fines or heavy-handed enforcement. His focus was Richard Thaler, the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics winner and co-author, with Cass Sunstein, of the 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.
The book helped popularise nudge theory: the idea that public policy can be designed so that the easier choice is also the better one. In Eldon’s telling, that approach can help people save for retirement, curb wasteful consumption and act more consistently with their long-term interests.
He noted that Thaler’s ideas were taken up in government. David Cameron created a nudge unit, officially called the “Behavioural Insight Team,” while President Obama set up a similar group led by Sunstein. Those teams, along with comparable bodies at institutions such as the World Bank and the UN, drew on behavioural science, political theory and behavioural economics to develop policies that rely on positive reinforcement and indirect prompts.
The article said nudging works alongside education, legislation and enforcement rather than replacing them. One example was the placement of healthy food at eye level in supermarkets or near checkout points, instead of simply banning junk food.
Another widely cited case involved organ donation. Several countries moved from an opt-in model to an opt-out system, automatically registering citizens unless they chose to refuse. That change, Eldon wrote, produced a sharp rise in donations.
He also pointed to a lighter example from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, where a fly image was etched into men’s urinals to improve aim. He added that men who use the men’s facility at Sarit Centre’s Newscafé would recognise the same idea.
Making a desired action simpler was presented as central to the approach, especially for complicated tasks such as applying for higher education or enrolling in pension funds. Eldon also said accessible human assistance can improve results when process changes alone are not enough.
In the UK, one of the longest-running nudge projects has been tax collection. Reminder letters were revised to tell non-compliant taxpayers that most of their neighbours had already paid, casting them as outliers. That tactic did little to move those with the largest debts, so officials shifted to a message stressing that unpaid tax would hurt everyone by reducing funding for healthcare, roads and schools.
He cited another success in adult literacy. Government-subsidised classes saw a major drop in dropout rates after students began receiving a personalised text message every Sunday night saying: “I hope you had a good break, and we look forward to seeing you next week. Remember to plan how you will get to your class.”
The piece also warned that people are not fully rational and often make decisions that do not serve their own interests, especially when under pressure or facing complexity. In those moments, Eldon wrote, people tend to act too quickly and too automatically, which can lead to poor judgement.
Not every nudge works equally well, he said, but experience improves the method. He suggested that trying to nudge matatu drivers into better conduct may be too ambitious, while for people who drink and drive, alcoblow remains the more reliable option.
He closed by arguing that nudging is not only for national policymakers. Families and workplaces, he said, can also use encouragement alongside sanctions to push people toward better decisions and more responsible behaviour.
