Nudging or Fudging: The World Development Report 2015

Journal article

Fine, B., Johnston, D., Santos, A. and Van Waeyenberge, E. (2016). Nudging or Fudging: The World Development Report 2015. Development and Change. 47 (6), pp. 640-663. https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12240
AuthorsFine, B., Johnston, D., Santos, A. and Van Waeyenberge, E.
Abstract

The 2015 World Development Report, Mind Society and Behaviour (World Bank, 2015), seeks a redesign of development policy on the basis of insights emerging from behavioural economics. This paper offers a critical assessment of the Report across four dimensions. First, it situates the Report within the broader and evolving knowledge role of the Bank. Second, the paper locates the Report in the context of the evolution of economics as a discipline and how this informs the evolution of the Bank’s development economics. Third, the Report is critically assessed for its narrow take on behavioural economics itself. Finally, the practical significance of the promotion of behavioural economics is considered through reference to its use in interventions in health in general and in response to HIV/AIDS in particular. It is argued that the Report suggests a dramatic and flawed reduction of what development is about, in that it foregoes any analysis of the structural problems facing developing countries and fails to propose major reforms to tackle these.

Year2016
JournalDevelopment and Change
Journal citation47 (6), pp. 640-663
PublisherWiley
ISSN0012 155X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12240
Publication dates
Print27 May 2016
Publication process dates
Deposited12 Jan 2023
Accepted author manuscript
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File Access Level
Open
Additional information

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Nudging or Fudging: The World
Development Report 2015, Development and Change 47 (4) which will be published in final form at
[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-7660]. This article may be used for
non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

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