Nudges as an effective tool to obtain desired results

Richard Thaler obtained the Nobel prize in Economics in 2017 for his contribution to the area of Behavioral Economics. He defends the idea that humans do not entirely act rationally, which creates inefficiencies. To minimize negative effects derived from behavioral biases, he introduced the term "nudge" and defined it as "a way to alter people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any option or significantly changing their economic incentives".  There are many positive aspects of nudges as they can improve outcomes for the society, but they are also dangerous as they can be used with the opposite purpose. Are nudges a good solution to improve social outcomes or not? How should they be used to improve outcomes and which types do we have?

During this webinar, Lara Ezquerra, lecturer in the University of the Balearic Islands and part time lecturer at IE, will talk about what nudges are, providing some examples of how they have been used and will open a discussion about potential advantages and disadvantages.

Lara Ezquerra did her undergraduate in Business Administration and Management at the University of the Basque Country. From there, she decided to turn her career towards Economics, enrolling in a Master in Economics: Empirical Applications and Policies at the same institution. Driven by a desire to learn more about Behavioral Economics, Lara enrolled in a PhD in Economics at Middlesex University London that she finalized in 2017.

Specialized in behavioral and experimental economics, Lara published papers in recognized international journals such as Experimental Economics or Economics Letters.