Nick Chater It's On You : How the Rich & Powerful Have Convinced Us that

A stirring call to action TIM HARFORDA masterclass DARON ACEMOGLUAn excellent book NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEBTwo decades ago, behavioral economics burst from academia to the halls of power, on both sides of the Atlantic, with the promise that correcting individual biases could help transform society. The hope was that governments could deploy a new approach to addressing societys deepest challenges, from inadequate retirement planning to climate changegently, but cleverly, nudging people to make choices for their own good and the good of the planet. It was all very convenient, and false. As behavioral scientists Nick Chater and George Loewenstein show in Its On You, nudges rarely work, and divert us from policies that do. For example, being nudged to switch to green energy doesnt cut carbon, and it distracts from the real challenge of building a lowcarbon economy. Its on You shows how the rich and powerful have repeatedly used a clever sleight of hand blaming individuals for social problems, with behavioral economics an unwitting accomplice, while lobbying against the systemic changes that could actually help. As two original proponents of the nudge principle, Nick and George now argue that rather than trying to "fix" the victims of bad policies, real progress requires rewriting the social and economic rulebook for the common good. | Nick Chater It's On You : How the Rich & Powerful Have Convinced Us that