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image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
License: Elsevier TDM
Data sources: Crossref
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6...
Article . 2026 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
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Paternalism After Behavioral Economics

Authors: Cass R. Sunstein;

Paternalism After Behavioral Economics

Abstract

Is paternalism legitimate? Might it increase welfare? When would it compromise autonomy in some impermissible way? The outpouring of empirical work on cognitive biases, and on departures from perfect rationality, has led to a wholesale rethinking of paternalism and its limits. Over the last decades, three camps have emerged: (1) coercive paternalists, who urge that behavioral findings undermine John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle and greatly strengthen arguments for paternalistic mandates and bans; (2) libertarian paternalists, who urge that behavioral findings justify a host of paternalistic but freedom-preserving interventions or "nudges," such as warnings, reminders, labels, and automatic enrollment; and (3) antipaternalists, who urge that behavioral findings justify only, or at most, efforts to strengthen or "boost" people's competences, or their capacities to make good choices. On welfare grounds, it is possible to identify the assumptions under which one or another approach would be best. Libertarian paternalism often has significant advantages over coercive paternalism, at least in circumstances in which choosers are heterogeneous. But when all or most choosers err, the welfarist argument for coercive paternalism is strengthened. And when choosers are not only heterogeneous but also adequately informed and free from behavioral biases, antipaternalism makes a great deal of sense.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
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