Obama's philosophy of Behavioral Economics

The Obama administration has embraced the assumption that people are hard wired for failure and must be motivated by economic reward, as exemplified by a program which now pays inner city girls for every day that they do not get pregnant.

The ideology, branded as behavioral economics, has been rolled out as a sophisticated and smart method backed by leading psychologists, though critical economists suggest that the theories are founded on a collection of anomalies and don't hold up in the real world.

A friend who grew up in public housing was outraged, stating 'Well, then I suppose I should be paid for every day that I am out of prison.'

I heard the article on NPR and probed around for reference - the NPR audio is available, along with a mix of other sources. Certainly there are supportive media pieces being rolled out.

From the article "Using Psychology To Save You From Yourself":

"Cass Sunstein, President Obama's pick to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was a vocal supporter of the program, because it was an economic policy that shaped itself around human psychology. Sunstein is just one of a number of high-level appointees now working in the Obama administration who favors this kind of approach.

All are devotees of behavioral economics — a school of economic thought greatly influenced by psychological research — which argues that the human animal is hard-wired to make errors when it comes to decision-making, and therefore people need a little "nudge" to make decisions that are in their own best interests.

And that is exactly what Obama administration officials plan to do: By taking account of human psychology, they hope to save you from yourself."


NPR on behavioral economics:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104803094

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_economics

An article about the program for paying teens to avoid pregnancy - yes, its Fox News, get over it:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529037,00.html

Link to the program itself 'College Bound Sisters' at UNCG School of Nursing:
http://nursing.uncg.edu/cbs/index.html

Time Magazine's very supportive take on behavioral economics:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1889153,00.html

USA Today:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/04/65813273/1

Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124570998785138771.html