Abstract

ARELLANO GAULT, David  and  BARRETO PEREZ, E. Fernanda. Behavioral Governance: Nudges, Unconscious Behavioral Change and Opacity. Foro int [online]. 2016, vol.56, n.4, pp.903-940. ISSN 0185-013X.

A new trend on the horizon of government reforms seeks to alter people’s behavior by inducing them to take better decisions. Behavioral governance assumes that people’s behavior cannot be effectively altered with rational mechanisms alone -such as incentives- but that it is necessary to introduce unconscious behavioral changes. It is necessary to create “choice architecture” to take positive advantage of the unconscious powers of the human mind and thereby to motivate more rational behavior. Thus, one of the most frequent criticisms of instruments based on altering unconscious behavior is the need for a certain level of opacity in their design and application in order for the nudges to be implemented effectively.

Keywords : nudges; neurosciences; behavioral economy; opacity; government reforms.

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