Module POL2097 for 2016/7
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL2097: Behavioural Public Policy and the Nudge Agenda
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Aims
The main objective of the module is to provide you with a critical understanding of how research and theoretical insights from the fields of behavioural economics and social psychology are being used to develop policy interventions in the contemporary era. In particular, the module discusses the apparently ‘boundedly rational’ nature of much human behaviour and the implications of this for governments seeking to develop policy tools or shape the ‘choice architecture’ to influence citizens, or indeed bureaucrats.
The module will use up-to-date case studies of methods and techniques that are being employed by contemporary governments in OECD countries, which will provide a useful grounding for those wishing to pursue a career in government. The methods and techniques discussed however have a range of applications in the private and non-profit sectors and so the research insights introduced in this module will also have value for those wishing to pursue careers in these other sectors.
While the course has practical policy relevance, you will be encouraged to take a critical, questioning approach and the course will also cover ethical and legitimacy questions surrounding behavioural public policy and its specific applications. You will engage in philosophical debates concerning ‘libertarian paternalism’ and explore research on the public’s view of the acceptability of Nudges.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how behavioural economic and social psychological insights are being used by government to secure policy outcomes 2. Demonstrate awareness of key heuristics employed in human decision-making 3. Articulate and critically evaluate a range of theoretical perspectives concerning the role of the State in influencing citizen behaviour |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Synthesise and extract arguments from academic literature and apply these to real policy problems 5. Propose viable methodologies for assessing the effects of policy interventions |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. Present arguments in a cogent way to a non-specialist audience 7. Work effectively as part of a team to deliver a defined project |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover the following topics:
- What is Behavioural Public Policy?
- Bounded Rationality; The Automatic and the Reflective System
- Nudge & Libertarian Paternalism
- Key Insights from Behavioural Economics
- Social psychological insights
- Nudge techniques
Throughout the module we discuss a variety of policy applications as outlined below, linking these to the underlying theory from behavioural economics and social psychology, and reviewing the . empirical evidence of their effects:
- Health & Lifestyle
- Environmental Behaviours
- Payment of taxes
- Savings and financial behaviour
- Civic behaviour
In the last part of the module, we consider ethical and normative questions surrounding the use of behavioural public policy, evaluate the merits or otherwise of this approach and discuss how behavioural policy techniques can be complementary to others.
- Ethical issues surrounding behavioural public policy
- The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism
- Combining Nudge with Regulation – ‘Budge’
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour Seminars a mix of formal lectures, class and small group discussions, student presentations |
| Guided Independent Study | 55 | Reading and seminar preparation including take home summary sheets |
| Guided Independent Study | 25 | Preparation for research protocol |
| Guided independent study | 25 | Preparation for essay |
| Guided independent study | 28 | Preparation for group presentation mix of individual and group preparation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Basic reading:
Akerlof, G. 2007. “The Missing Motivation in Macroeconomics”, American Economic Review , 97: 5-36.
Ariely, D. 2008. Predictably irrational: the hidden forces that shape our decisions . London, Harper Collins.
Galizzi, Matteo M. 2014. “What is really behavioral in behavioral health policy? And does it work?” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy , 36(1): 25-60.
James, S. 2012. “The contribution of behavioral economics to tax reform in the United Kingdom”, Journal of Socio-Economics , 41: 468-475.
John, P. et al. 2011. Nudge, Nudge, Think, Think: Experimenting with Ways to Change Civic Behaviour . London: Bloomsbury Academic.
John, P. 2013. ‘All Tools are Informational Now: How Information and Persuasion Define the Tools of Government’, Policy & Politics , 41(4): 605-20.
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. 1979. “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk”, Econometrica , Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 263-292.
Kahneman, D. 2013. Thinking, Fast and Slow . Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Oliver, A. 2017. The origins of behavioural public policy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Oliver, A. 2013. Ed. Behavioural Public Policy . Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Oliver, Adam. 2013. “From Nudging to Budging: Using Behavioural Economics to Inform Public Sector Policy”, Journal of Social Policy , 42(4): 685-700.
Sunstein, C. 2016. The Ethics of Influence: Government in the Age of Behavioral Science . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sunstein, C. Forthcoming. ‘Do People Like Nudges?’, Administrative Law Review , Forthcoming. Draft Working Paper Available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604084
Sunstein, C. 2015. Why Nudge? The Politics of Libertarian Paternalism . Yale University Press.
Thaler, R. and C. Sunstein. 2008. Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness . New Haven, Yale University Press.
