Nudging Towards A Sustainable Future

Dr. Frick's July 19th lecture on transportation in the Bay Area reminded me of Nudge, an insightful and lively book written by University of Chicago economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. In her lecture, Dr. Frick detailed the practice of "congestion pricing". Users of congested routes, like the Bay Bridge, are charged a nominal fee in order to encourage them to find a different route to their destination. This fee is a classic example of a "nudge".

Nudges are influences that encourage people to make better choices. People, even when they are in a position to make to make a good choice, are often thwarted by insufficient information, impulsivity, tragedy of the commons, etc. Nudges help people overcome these obstacles while still allowing them the freedom to do otherwise. Maintaining this personal freedom doesn't just benefit individual utility; it also leaves room for market forces to promote the efficient distribution of scarce resources.

Nudges have the potential to be powerful tools in the fight against climate change. Imagine if air conditioning controls listed the approximate cost per hour of the current temperature setting. I suspect that there are many people usually oblivious to the cost of air conditioning who would happily turn their air conditioning down.

What nudges can you think of? How can we modify or inform people's choice architecture in such a way as to encourage them to live sustainably?