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1、 有时候，我不是不理你，只是在等你先开口。 有时候，真的好想跟你讲话，但又很怕你嫌我烦。有时候，我只是需要一个可以说话的人。有时候，我真想你能懂我，即使我什么都不说。有时候，总有种想哭的冲动，却不知道为什么。有时候，我在乎的不是你所说的，而是那些你没有说的。【导读】2010年以来，芝加哥大学教授Richard Thaler一直为“助推小组”（Nudge Unit）提供咨询，这是一个由英国政府组建的机构，旨在制定通过帮助公民做出更好的选择来提高公共福利的政策。该小组的名称来自于Thaler与哈佛法学院教授Cass Sunstein合著的助推：改进有关健康、财富和幸福的决策（Nudge: Impr
2、oving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness，耶鲁大学出版社，2008年4月）一书，该书将行为经济学思想运用到公共政策中。Thaler 和 Sunstein指出，通过更加敏感地关注人类的行为倾向，政策制定者可以推动人民更多地储蓄、更好地投资、更明智地消费、使用更少的能源，以及更健康地生活。【译文】Free exchange自由交流专栏Nudge nudge, think think“助推”思考力推动政策调整The use of behavioural economics in public policy shows promise行为经
3、济学在公共政策领域崭露头角Mar 24th 2012 | from the print edition“FREAKONOMICS” was the book that made the public believe the dismal science has something interesting to say about how people act in the real world. But “Nudge” was the one that got policy wonks excited. The book, first published in 2008, is about t
4、he potential for behavioural economics to improve the effectiveness of government. Behavioural economists have found that all sorts of psychological or neurological biases cause people to make choices that seem contrary to their best interests. The idea of nudging is based on research that shows it
5、is possible to steer people towards better decisions by presenting choices in different ways.是魔鬼经济学让公众开始相信，即使是经济这种沉闷的科学1也可以妙趣横生地解释人类在现实生活中的行为方式。然而真正让政策专家们激动不已的是一本叫做助推的书。这本书于2008年首次出版，内容有关行为经济学在改善政府工作效率方面的潜在作用。行为经济学家发现，心理上以及神经上的各种差异都会使人们做出与自身最佳利益相悖的选择。有调查研究显示，以不同的方式呈现出人们面临的选择，可能会驱使人们做出更好的决策。在此基础上，“助推
6、”的想法应运而生。That theory is now being put to the test. One of the books co-authors, Cass Sunstein, has been recruited by Barack Obama to the White House. Richard Thaler, the other co-author, has been advising policymakers in several countries including Denmark, France and, above all, Britain, where Davi
7、d Cameron has established a Behavioural Insights Team, nicknamed the Nudge Unit.这一理论目前正处于试验阶段。本书的合著作者之一卡斯桑斯特（Cass Sunstein）已被巴拉克奥巴马（Barack Obama）招揽到白宫工作。而另一位作者理查德泰勒（Richard Thaler）正为一些国家的政策制定者出谋划策，其中包括丹麦，法国，而接受献计最多的当属英国政府，其首相戴维卡梅隆（David Cameron）已建立了一个行为学研究小组，绰号“助推小组”。In this section有所作为The Nudge Uni
8、t has been running dozens of experiments and the early results have been promising. In one trial, a letter sent to non-payers of vehicle taxes was changed to use plainer English, along the line of “pay your tax or lose your car”. In some cases the letter was further personalised by including a photo
9、 of the car in question. The rewritten letter alone doubled the number of people paying the tax; the rewrite with the photo tripled it.“助推小组”一直以来进行了几十项试验，其早期研究收获颇丰。曾有一项试验对寄给未缴纳车辆税者的信件进行了改写，使用了类似“不交税就收车”这样更为平直的语句。其中一些信件还更加“个性化地”附上了该问题车辆的照片。仅改写而未附照片的信件使得缴税人数翻了一倍；而附有照片的改写信件则使缴税人数则增为三倍。Changes to langua
10、ge have had marked effects elsewhere, too. A study into the teaching of technical drawing in French schools found that if the subject was called “geometry” boys did better, but if it was called “drawing” girls did equally well or better. Teachers are now being trained to use the appropriate term.除了催
11、缴税款方面的作用之外，遣词造句的不同对其他领域也有所影响。一项关于法国学校里工程制图课程教学的研究表明，如果这门课被称为“几何学”，男生会表现得更好，但如果被称作“绘画课”，那么女生则会表现得同样出色甚至更出色些。老师们目前正在接受培训，学习如何恰当地措辞。Another set of trials in Britain focused on energy efficiency. Research into why people did not take up financial incentives to reduce energy consumption by insulating the
12、ir homes found one possibility was the hassle of clearing out the attic. A nudge was designed whereby insulation firms would offer to clear the loft, dispose of unwanted items and return the rest after insulating it. This example of what behavioural economists call “goal substitution”replacing lower
13、 energy use with cleaning out the atticled to a threefold increase in take-up of an insulation grant.此外，“助推小组”在英国还进行了一组关于能源效率的试验。隔热式住房在减少能源的消耗的同时还可以降低相关费用。然而人们为什么并不接受这种省钱的节能方法呢？研究发现，有一种可能是因为人们嫌清理阁楼太麻烦了。针对这个问题的助推方法是由隔热改造公司负责清理阁楼的工作，同时会帮客户处理掉他们的多余物品并在隔热改造结束后归还剩余物品。经济学家称这种心理现象为“目标置换”2，在此案例中人们不愿清理阁楼的心理代
14、替了节约能源的考虑。在这个问题解决之后，同意进行隔热改造的人数增加为原来的三倍。All this experimentation is yielding insights into which nudges give the biggest shove. One question is whether nudges can be designed to harness existing social norms. In Copenhagen Pelle Guldborg Hansen, founder of the Danish Nudging Network, a non-profit or
15、ganisation, tested two potential “social nudges” in partnership with the local government, both using symbols to try to influence choices. In one trial, green arrows pointing to stairs were put next to railway-station escalators, in the hope of encouraging people to take the healthier option. This h
16、ad almost no effect. The other experiment had a series of green footprints leading to rubbish bins. These signs reduced littering by 46% during a controlled experiment in which wrapped sweets were handed out. “There are no social norms about taking the stairs but there are about littering,” says Mr Hansen.所有这些实验都会得出一些有意义的结论供助推者们大展拳脚。而一个值得注意的问题是，设计出来的助推计划是否能够充分利用现有的社会规范。“丹麦助推网络”这一非营
