Governing Irrationality, or a More Than Rational Government? Reflections on the Rescientisation of Decision Making in British Public Policy

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2819-2837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Whitehead ◽  
Rhys Jones ◽  
Jessica Pykett
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ethical Critique ◽  
Behavioural Theories

It appears that recent debates within human geography, and the broader social sciences, concerning the more-than-rational constitution of human decision making are now being paralleled by changes in the ways in which public policy makers are conceiving of and addressing human behaviour. This paper focuses on the rise of so-called Behaviour Change policies in public policy in the UK. Behaviour Change policies draw on the behavioural insights being developed within the neuro-sciences, behavioural economics, and psychology. These new behavioural theories suggest not only that human decision making relies on a previously overlooked irrational component, but that the irrationality of decision making is sufficiently consistent to enable effective public policy intervention into the varied times and spaces that surround human decisions. This paper charts the emergence of Behaviour Change policies within a range of British public policy sectors, and the political and scientific antecedents of such policies. Ultimately, the paper develops a geographically informed, ethical critique of the contemporary Behaviour Change regime that is emerging in the UK. Drawing on thirty in-depth interviews with leading policy executives, and case studies that reflect the application of Behaviour Change policies on the design and constitution of British streets, the analysis claims that current strategies are predicated on a partial reading of new behavioural theories. We argue that this partial reading of human cognition is leading to the construction of public policies that seek to arbitrarily decouple the rational and emotional components of human decision making with deleterious social and political consequences.

9. Economic behaviour and public policy

2017 ◽  
pp. 116-126
Author(s):  
Michelle Baddeley
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Market Failures ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Economic Behaviour ◽  
Behavioural Insights ◽  
Wide Range

At its best, economics can help policy-makers to design policies that resolve a wide range of economic and financial problems, for individuals and economies as a whole. ‘Economic behaviour and public policy’ explores some key insights and evidence from behavioural public policy, particularly microeconomic policy. Instead of examining market failures, behavioural public policy looks at behaviour change—changing the way that people make their everyday decisions and choices by nudging them towards more efficient and productive decision-making. The future for behavioural public policy is promising. Policy-makers need to look carefully at how policies based around behavioural insights can be used to complement rather than replace conventional economic policy instruments.

scholarly journals Decision Making at the State and Local Level: Does Science Matter?

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (01) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan G. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACTScience is believed to be an important part of public policy decision making because of its inherent characteristics of measurability, rigor, objectivity, replication, and peer review. The purpose of this research was to explore the linkage of science to public policy decision making. The research explores what state and local public officials know about science and how much they actually use science in their decision making. Interview results with public officials in the State of Idaho demonstrate that policy makers ultimately see science as only one element in the mix. Findings suggest that equal attention and debate should be given to how science interacts with all of the other factors that affect the public policy making process.

Behavioral Economics and Public Policy 102: Beyond Nudging

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 396-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saurabh Bhargava ◽  
George Loewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
Policy Problems

Policymakers have recently embraced Behavioral Economics as an alternative approach which recognizes the limits and consequences of human decision-making. Early applications of BE (“nudges”) produced notable successes and helped to set the stage for more aggressive applications aimed at the deeper causes of policy problems. We contend that policies that aspire to simplify products and incentives, rather than choice environments, aggressively protect consumers from behavioral exploitation, and leverage BE to enhance the design and implementation of traditional policy instruments offer solutions commensurate with contemporary challenges. Case studies in health insurance, privacy, and climate change illustrate the application of these ideas.

scholarly journals Reflecting on Children and Young People's Participation in the UK

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Gallagher ◽  
Kay M. Tisdall ◽  
John Davis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Service User ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Service User Involvement ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Decision

AbstractThe article interrogates how children and young people's participation in public decision-making has been promoted in the UK. It considers critically the reasons typically (and persuasively) put forward for such participation, which can be categorized as: the promotion of children's rights; alignment with consumerism and service user involvement; enhancing democracy; and developing children's well-being and development. Each of these reasons can appeal to particular agendas of policy-makers, professionals and other influential adults, to provide room and support for participation. But inevitably each reason has certain advantages and disadvantages, acted out in current trends and accompanying dilemmas in children and young people's participation activities.

scholarly journals Keeping science’s seat at the decision-making table: Mechanisms to motivate policy-makers to keep using scientific information in the age of disinformation

FACETS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1045-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin N. Marleau ◽  
Kimberly D. Girling
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Multiple Streams ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Uk

Policy-makers are confronted with complex problems that require evaluating multiple streams of evidence and weighing competing interests to develop and implement solutions. However, the policy interventions available to resolve these problems have different levels of supporting scientific evidence. Decision-makers, who are not necessarily scientifically trained, may favour policies with limited scientific backing to obtain public support. We illustrate these tensions with two case studies where the scientific consensus went up against the governing parties’ chosen policy. What mechanisms exist to keep the weight of scientific evidence at the forefront of decision-making at the highest levels of government? In this paper, we propose that Canada create “Departmental Chief Science Advisors” (DCSAs), based on a program in the UK, to help complement and extend the reach of the newly created Chief Science Advisor position. DCSAs would provide advice to ministers and senior civil servants, critically evaluate scientific work in their host department, and provide public outreach for the department’s science. We show how the DCSAs could be integrated into their departments and illustrate their potential benefits to the policy making process and the scientific community.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 related regulations and restrictions on mobility and potential for sustained climate mitigation across the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK: A data-based commentary.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Corker ◽  
Kaloyan Mitev ◽  
Astrid Nilsson ◽  
Milan Tamis ◽  
Thijs Bouman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Observed Behaviour ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Behaviour Changes ◽  
The Impact

Human behaviour change is necessary to meet targets set by the Paris Agreement to mitigate climate change. Restrictions and regulations put in place globally to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 during 2020 have had a substantial impact on everyday life, including many carbon-intensive behaviours such as transportation. Changes to transportation behaviour may reduce carbon emissions. Behaviour change theory can offer perspective on the drivers and influences of behaviour and shape recommendations for how policy-makers can capitalise on any observed behaviour changes that may mitigate climate change. For this commentary, we aimed to describe changes in data relating to transportation behavioursrelating to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic across the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. We display these identified changes in a concept map, suggesting links between the changes in behaviour and levels of carbon emissions. We consider these changes in relation to a comprehensive and easy to understand model of behaviour, the COM-B, to understand the capabilities, opportunities and behaviours related to the observed behaviour changes and potential policy to mitigate climate change. There is now an opportunity for policy-makers to increase the likelihood of maintaining pro-environmental behaviour changes by providing opportunities, improving capabilities and maintaining motivation for these behaviours.

An Analysis of the Adolescent Consumer

1979 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
George P. Moschis ◽  
Gilbert A. Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Young People ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Effective Decision ◽  
Effective Decision Making

Although the consumer behavior of young people has become of increasing interest to marketing practitioners and public policy makers, little empirical data are available to be used in effective decision making. This paper presents an analysis of adolescent consumer behavior and provides empirical data useful in understanding differences among teenage consumers.

Risk versus Hazard – How to Regulate in the 21st Century

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragnar E. Lofstedt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Brominated Flame Retardant ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Regulatory Decision ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Uk

In Europe, debate as to whether one should regulate chemicals based on intrinsic hazard or assessment of risk, or possibly a combination of both, has been gaining momentum. This article first provides a brief history of this risk versus hazard debate. Secondly, it examines how European regulators are currently handling the regulation of two chemical compounds, namely Bisphenol A and Deca BDE (a brominated flame retardant), based on forty-five expert interviews with regulators, policy makers and industry representatives in eight Member States, as well as with European Commission officials. The paper shows that there is no clear consensus as to when risk or hazard considerations should be the basis for regulatory decision-making, with wide discrepancies between Member States (e.g. the UK is overall more risk based than Sweden) and between regulatory agencies within Member States. The penultimate section puts forward a series of recommendations to help regulators and policy makers develop more consistent and science based regulations for Europe.

scholarly journals Improving the use of evidence in legislatures: the case of the UK Parliament

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 619-638
Author(s):  
David Christian Rose ◽  
Caroline Kenny ◽  
Abbi Hobbs ◽  
Chris Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Advisory Groups ◽  
Science Advisory ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Use Of Research

Despite claims that we now live in a post-truth society, it remains commonplace for policy makers to consult research evidence to increase the robustness of decision making. Few scholars of evidence-policy interfaces, however, have used legislatures as sites of study, despite the fact that they play a critical role in modern democracies. There is thus limited knowledge of how research evidence is sourced and used in legislatures, which presents challenges for academics and science advisory groups, as well as to others interested in ensuring that democratic decisions are evidence-informed. Here, we present results from an empirical study into the use of research in the UK Parliament, obtained through the use of a mixed methodology, including interviews and surveys of 157 people in Parliament, as well as an ethnographic investigation of four committees. Here we are specifically interested in identifying the factors affecting the use of research evidence in Parliament with the aim of improving its use. We focus on providing advice for the Higher Education Sector, which includes improving knowledge of, and engagement in, parliamentary processes, reform of academic incentives to stimulate the production of policy-relevant information and to assist engagement, and working with trusted knowledge brokers. Implementing this advice should improve the chances that parliamentary decision making is informed by research evidence.

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