The Nudge blog wonders whether Nudge ideas are leading to scams
http://nudges.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/has-nudge-unintentionally-lead-to-airline-marketing-scams/
I dont want to get into specific examples but the dogs in the street know that some companies use defaults for all sorts of nefarious (though not neccesarily illegal) purposes and did so long before they would have heard of behavioural economics.
An article from a few years talks about the potential benefits of defaults but also how important they are to companies and some of the legal issues involved
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto082920061459015528
One thing Nudge and wider discussion of behavioural ideas might do is to increase awareness of how defaults in airlines and financial institutions that may be framed as attractive may actually lead us to do things that we would certainly not do if making active and informed choices.
1 comment:
Nudge call for a "look-out" on scams. The difference between a scam and an aggressive though legitimate marketing strategy is a tricky one. I propose basically that consumer websites should highlight defaults and bundling that sound good at first glance look good but would not be chosen by many consumers if explained to them properly.
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