I have started reading “Nudge” by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein of University of Chicago. While I don’t know yet what I will think of all their ideas, they have captivated me with some already. Their discussion of “choice architects,” people who have the “responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions,” immediately got me thinking about how court ADR programs are designed, particularly decisions about referrals.
The authors describe the example of choice architects in a cafeteria putting salad and fruit at the beginning of the food line to promote healthy eating as a form of “libertarian paternalism,” a phrase they distinguish from the popular meanings of either word. (more…)
