It's On You, 9780753562161
Paperback
Nudges fail, blame systems, not individuals: rewrite the rules for good.
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It's On You

How Corporations and Behavioral Scientists Have Convinced Us that We're to Blame for Society's Deepest Problems

$33.01

  • Paperback

    336 pages

  • Release Date

    9 February 2026

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Summary

Two decades ago, behavioral economics burst from academia to the halls of power, on both sides of the Atlantic, with the promise that correcting individual biases could help transform society. The hope was that governments could deploy a new approach to addressing society’s deepest challenges, from inadequate retirement planning to climate change-gently, but cleverly, nudging people to make choices for their own good and the good of the planet.

It was all very convenient, and false. A…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780753562161
ISBN-10:0753562162
Author:Nick Chater, George Loewenstein
Publisher:Ebury Publishing
Imprint:W H Allen
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:336
Release Date:9 February 2026
Weight:700g
Dimensions:234mm x 153mm x 40mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

A wise and deeply-researched book and a stirring call to action. It is rare to see such expert thinkers reflect so profoundly on the risks of their own field. – Tim Harford, Financial Times journalist and author of ‘The Undercover Economist’If you believe corporate America, preventing a climate crisis is up to you. Loewenstein and Chater make a convincing case that this is little more than a self-serving lie. – Eduardo Porter, author of ‘The Price of Everything’From two experts in behavioral economics and social psychology, we have a masterclass in how to blend individual psychology with institutions, so that people are encouraged to get involved and develop solutions to our urgent problems via the democratic process. – Daron Acemoglu, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and co-author of ‘Why Nations Fail’This is an excellent book—engaging and well written. The authors convincingly show that in a system with complex interactions, nudge-style interventions at the individual level fail when the problem lies in the structure. – Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of ‘Incerto’, ‘The Black Swan’ and ‘Antifragile’Two of the leading scientists of human decision-making, write that nudges have vastly over-promised and under-delivered. Instead of trying to solve big, systematic problems by marginally changing how individuals respond to perverse incentives, they persuasively advise us to systematically change those incentives with the tools of government and democracy. – Alvin Roth, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of ‘Who Gets What – and Why’

About The Author

Nick Chater

Nick Chater (Author)

Nick Chater is a professor of behavioural science at the Warwick Business School. He was awarded the Rumelhart Prize for lifetime achievement in cognitive science in 2023. Nick has advised the UK Government and co-founded Decision Technology, a research consultancy.

George Loewenstein (Author)

George Loewenstein is one of the founders of behavioural economics, neuroeconomics, and behavioural public policy. He is one of the world’s most highly cited economists. He is currently the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. George has advised many leading companies and government bodies.

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