Smart ways to govern

In their book Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein argue that through "choice architecture" people should be subtly steered into making the right and desirable decisions. For example, the way a cafeteria manager arranges the food (that is, which ones are displayed first or are positioned at eye level) dramatically influences what people end up picking. School administrators are therefore in the responsible position to deliberately design the food display in such a way that students are more inclined to choose healthy foods. Yes, it’s not always necessary to nag or carry a big stick to make the kids eat their veggies.

One simple trick behind smart choice architecture is to direct people’s attention in a particular direction and influence their behavior as a result.  An amusing example cited by Thaler and Sunstein is the case of the men’s urinals at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.  To reduce the mess that men with a bad aim create in the bathrooms, airport authorities tried etching the image of a fly in the middle of each urinal.  The result was a stunning 80 percent reduction in spillage.  It appears that this simple hose-the-fly-down-the-urinal design from an airport has taken off in popularity.  I recently noticed it at the local library of a small town north of Boston.

The application of smart design in influencing public behavior has enormous safety and cost benefits.  Thaler and Sunstein cites how the S-curves on Chicago’s scenic Lake Shore Drive become danger zones when drivers ignore the speed limit of 25 mph.  Instead of a more costly police presence, however, the city of Chicago, in addition of setting up a big warning sign, simply painted a series of white stripes on the road, spacing them much more closely in the most dangerous sections.  As drivers approach the notorious curves, the white lines create an exaggerated sense of speed.  As a result of the visual nudge, drivers slow down.

In terms of the overall economy, simply mandating the right defaults in employment forms can have an enormous impact.  For example, it has been proven that if newly hired employees are enrolled in a savings plan as a default (that is, they are automatically enrolled without doing anything) and that they will have to take action (such as completing a form) to exercise their right to opt out, most will end up saving.  Such mandate can thus lead to a higher national savings rate.  The outcome is reversed if the default is non-enrollment (that is, new employees have to take an affirmative step—such as filling out a form—to opt in).

The insights in Nudge will undoubtedly appeal to people consumed by the desire to transform society for the better.  The authors try to label their concept of social nudging as “libertarian paternalism,” mainly because while it directs like a benevolent father, the individual keeps his or her liberty or freedom to decide (I suppose just because there’s a fly in the urinal does not mean you have to aim at it).  Others may, on philosophical grounds, object to limiting choices, and therefore framing the concept along philosophical lines may be distracting.  To me the force of the idea is in its practical application and desirable results.

It’s encouraging to know that top members of the Obama administration are Nudge practitioners.  In fact, Nudge co-author Cass Sunstein now works as the government’s regulatory czar.  The deliberate use of behavioral science is evident in the administration’s more confident and patient stance toward the political right in the home front and anti-Americanism overseas.  Unlike Bush’s “you’re either with us or you’re our enemy” stance, a behaviorist attempt to positively influence opposition requires a more measured temperament.  As Sun Tzu writes in the Art of War, “Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.”  On talk shows, you hear Obama people make consistent references to “our friends in the Republican party” even if voting has been quite starkly defined along partisan lines, and indications point to a greater GOP focus on winning the next elections (and thus the agenda appears to revolve around how to undermine support for Obama).  Just last week, a long-time Republican party pillar Arlen Specter switched to the Democratic party, probably reinforcing the administration’s more open-arm stance toward the other side of the political aisle.

Perhaps the greatest insight that can be gleaned from Nudge is that it’s not necessary to rule by fear or coercion.  There are simple but smart and ingenious ways to govern, especially if the party in power (who in effect becomes the choice architect in many aspects of people’s lives) is less constrained by an ideological straightjacket and is more focused on practical and beneficial outcomes.  In the Philippines, the application of smart choice architecture to fight corruption and break the cycle of poverty has infinite possibilities.  All we need is a cadre of smart and strong-willed leaders.

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