Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/227502 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
Diskussionsbeitrag No. 2005
Publisher: 
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung (DARE), Göttingen
Abstract: 
In many instances, default nudges are proven to be strong drivers of behavior. However, a number of ethical concerns have been raised. Both, nudge success and ethical concerns, depend heavily on the features of the default nudge, with some of them being shared by defaults in all settings. We systematically review the scientific literature on default nudges from various disciplines and investigate nudge success and ethical concerns with respect to seven main features: (1) the initial state of the choice architecture, (2) the invasiveness, (3) the psychological effect mechanism, (4) the purpose, (5) the visibility, (6) the customization, and (7) the disclosure of the default. When designing a default, as researcher or practitioner, a full consideration of these features is advised. Often enough, choice architects are not aware of the design options. In a nutshell, the welfare losses suffered through the initial choice architecture are often overlooked. Customizations and disclosures of defaults are scarcely used despite easing ethical concerns without negatively affecting nudge success. The psychological effect mechanism, with several ethical implications, remains a theoretical relict that is not empirically researched. Default framing in combination with a choice structuring default can lead to greater nudge success.
Subjects: 
nudging
opt-out
opt-in
status quo
choice architecture
defaulting, welfare
JEL: 
M38
I12
I38
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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