A Political Economy of Behavioural Public Policy

An overarching liberal political economy of behavioural public policy, offering a radical departure from existing paternalistic frameworks.

Adam Oliver (Author)

9781009282567, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 February 2023

236 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 1.7 cm, 0.52 kg

'Essential reading for anyone eager to delve deeper into the realm of behavioural public policy.' Olga Danylenko, LSE Review of Books

Behavioural public policy has thus far been dominated by approaches that are based on the premise that it is entirely legitimate for policymakers to design policies that nudge or influence people to avoid desires that may not be in their own self- interest. This book argues, instead, for a liberal political economy that radically departs from these paternalistic frameworks. Oliver argues for a framework whereby those who impose no substantive harms on others ought to be free of manipulative or coercive interference. On this view, BPP does not seek to “correct” an individual's conception of the desired life. This book is the third in a trilogy of books by Adam Oliver on the origins and conceptual foundations of BPP.

Introduction
1. Setting the scene
2. Other voices
3. A kingdom of ends
4. The view from nowhere
5. Nourishing flourishing
6. Anyone for desert?
7. Private matters
8. Public matters
9. The lives of others
10. Summing up
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Behavioural economics [KCK]