Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Nudge economics; I will explain in a moment, Senator Bishop—testing various aspects of its theoretical underpinnings.

Given my recent work as Chair of the Coalition Deregulation Taskforce I thought it appropriate to make some comments about nudge economics as a public policy tool and the use of it by the federal government. Nudge economics can be broadly defined as the use of psychology and behavioural economics to change the choice architecture with a view to influencing people's behaviour.

In the regulatory context, the use of nudge economics is about how governments can use regulatory design and implementation to alter how citizens make economic decisions, particularly consumer choices. The discipline gained international attention within public policy circles via the publication, in 2008, of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler.