Banishing the inner Econ and justifying paternalistic nudges

Abstract Paternalistic nudging and framing aim to correct flaws in deliberation by relying on the same cognitive mechanisms that create those flaws. Regarding some choices as flawed need of correction requires standard correctness. In their well-known book, Nudge , Thaler Sunstein take individual's own “purified” preferences be standard, which is inconsistent with finding behavioral economics individuals do not have a stable preference ranking alternatives, but instead construct when faced choice. This essay defends an alternative, readily usable judge whether are choosing badly nudges can help them choose better.