An analysis of how findings in behavioral economics challenge fundamental assumptions of medical ethics, integrating the latest research in both fields.




An analysis of how findings in behavioral economics challenge fundamental assumptions of medical ethics, integrating the latest research in both fields.
Bioethicists have long argued for rational persuasion to help patients with medical decisions. But the findings of behavioral economics-popularized in Thaler and Sunstein's Nudge and other books-show that arguments depending on rational thinking are unlikely to be successful and even that the idea of purely rational persuasion may be a fiction. In Good Ethics and Bad Choices, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby examines how behavioral economics challenges some of the most fundamental tenets of medical ethics. She not only integrates the latest research from both fields but also provides examples of how physicians apply concepts of behavioral economics in practice.
Blumenthal-Barby analyzes ethical issues raised by...