Importance of Behavioral Economics to Informing Public Policy

Source: New York Times, January 10, 2013 In a recent op-ed by New York Times columnist David Brooks on the importance of behavioral economic approaches to informing public policy, work by CHIBE researchers Kevin Volpp, George Loewenstein and Leslie John in contributing to a recent the book on the behavioral foundations of public policy was highlighted with description of a  weight loss study we conducted that was published in JAMA in which people trying to lose weight were made eligible for daily sweepstakes and lost three times as much weight as those who were in a control group.