Why Our Tipping Behavior Changed

Explained by behavioral economics, a new technological default changed our tipping behavior in restaurants and taxi cabs.

Two More Ways That Stores Boost What We Buy

More than the list we could take to the mall, we are influenced by the shopping nudges that stores use to boost our buying.

Why Baseball Umpires Are Like Wine Tasters

Whether looking a the strikes called by an umpire or the scores from wine tasters, we would see inconsistent decisions that are called noisy.

The (Surprisingly) Best Way to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

If we really want to diminish our carbon footprint, we need to focus on behavior that is somewhat different from what we usually do.

How Governments Nudge Us

Whether it’s plastic straw use, energy conservation, or flu vaccinations, governments use nudges to influence our decisions.

Why We Like Lotteries

We can ask why our lottery ticket spending has been $70 billion annually when we have such an infinitesimal chance of winning.

Infrastructure’s Hiding Hand

When politicians plan to update our transportation infrastructure, they are influenced by a hidden hand that can be benevolent or malevolent.

Our Taxi Tips

For every cab ride, NYC records the place, time, fare (and the tip if a credit card is used). Using the taxi database, Gawker was able to figure out Kourtney Kardashian’s and Judd Apatow’s tips because of time stamped photos that included a taxi medallion number. We…

The Response to Calorie Labels

Although research shows the impact is small, the Affordable Care Act will soon mandate calorie labels and nutrition information in restaurant chains.

Government Nudge Squad Questions

A government Nudge Squad that compensates for our irrational behavior is dealing with policy makers with the same behavioral economics irrationalities.