A Little Nudge For A Bigger Pension

A Little Nudge For A Bigger Pension

Sometimes a little nudge is enough. This finding forms the center of Richard Thaler's research. The US behavioral economist and Nobel laureate in economics will celebrate his 75th birthday on September 12th. His concept of "nudging" is experiencing a real revival worldwide in the wake of the Corona crisis. "Nudging" is about consciously "nudging" citizens in order to motivate them to behave in a certain way. For this purpose, the framework conditions, the decision-making architecture, are changed in such a way that decisions that make sense for the well-being of the individual and society are easier. In times of pandemics, life can save.

Supermarkets - the strongholds of nudging

If you look at everyday life in Germany with "nudging glasses", you can see many such "nudges". For example, pictograms in washrooms remind us to wash our hands correctly. The real strongholds of nudging, however, are the supermarkets: loudspeaker announcements, signs and adhesive strips on the floor should remind us of the minimum distance and the need to wear a mask. From the perspective of traditional economics, however, such nudges would not be necessary. The rationally acting "Homo oeconomicus" would of course keep the minimum distance and wear a mask in order to reduce the risk of infection for himself and others. Richard Thaler, on the other hand, assumes that people often do not act rationally, that they do not always have the best for themselves and society in mind. Thaler is thus a revolutionary in classical economics - and a crossover between behavioral economics, psychology and economic policy. Thaler introduced the "Planner-Doer model" into economics. In this model, humans have two I's: the far-sighted planner who strives for the best long-term solution, and the short-sighted doer who seeks short-term satisfaction. Often the "doer" wins. Unfortunately, one has to say - with regard to retirement provision, for example.