We present a critique of Behavioral Economics, the dominant approach to reforming the regulation of retail credit, and propose a new approach to managing uncertainty in consumer lending. This new approach draws on a different model of decision-making, Distributed Cognition, to improve contract...

Die digitale Durchleuchtung und Bewertung des Verhaltens von Konsumenten und Bürgern nach einem Punktesystem (Scoring) ist in repressiven Staaten wie China schon weit gediehen. Aber auch in Deutschland werden mit diesem System Bürger als Verbraucher in der Finanzwirtschaft oder als Patienten...

Tests und Vergleiche von Gütern und Dienstleistungen sind mittlerweile weit verbreitet. Würde der einzelne Verbraucher den Vergleich selbst durchführen, wäre dies mit hohen Kosten verbunden, institutionelle Tests bieten demgegenüber eine gute Informationsmöglichkeit. Die...

Die digitale Durchleuchtung und Bewertung des Verhaltens von Konsumenten und Bürgern nach einem Punktesystem (Scoring) ist in repressiven Staaten wie China schon weit gediehen. Aber auch in Deutschland werden mit diesem System Bürger als Verbraucher in der Finanzwirtschaft oder als Patienten...

Responsible innovation in generative AI requires an in-depth understanding of the ethical risk that these models pose. Generative AI promises automated, effective influence at scale. It can be used for good but poses a significant manipulation risk. That risk has not yet examined in detail yet,...

Market regulation has traditionally focused on disclosure duties, and in recent years much attention has been given to nudges. However, there are increasing doubts about the effectiveness of disclosures and nudges. In response, some conclude that regulation should be abandoned altogether. An...

A statement or action can be said to be manipulative if it does not sufficiently engage or appeal to people's capacity for reflective and deliberative choice. One problem with manipulation, thus understood, is that it fails to respect people's autonomy and is an affront to their dignity. Another...

Libertarian paternalism, as advanced by Cass Sunstein, is seriously flawed, but not primarily for the reasons that most commentators suggest. Libertarian paternalism and its attendant regulatory implications are too libertarian, not too paternalistic, and as a result are in considerable tension...

Some people believe that nudges undermine human agency, but with appropriate nudges, neither agency nor consumer freedom is at risk. On the contrary, nudges can promote both goals. In some contexts, they are indispensable. There is no opposition between education on the one hand and nudges on...

In diverse areas – from retirement savings, to fuel economy, to prescription drugs, to consumer credit, to food and beverage consumption – government makes personal decisions for us or helps us make what it sees as better decisions. In other words, government serves as our agent. Understood...