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Cited by 1,288

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 34 of the 34 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron

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Sunstein, Cass R., Thaler, Richard H.·2003·The University of Chicago Law Review

Abstract

The idea of libertarian paternalism might seem to be an oxymoron, but it is both possible and legitimate for private and public institutions to affect behavior while also respecting freedom of choice. Often people’s preferences are ill-formed, and their choices will inevitably be influenced by default rules, framing effects, and starting points. In these circumstances, a form of paternalism cannot be avoided. Equipped with an understanding of behavioral findings of bounded rationality and bounded self-control, libertarian paternalists should attempt to steer people’s choices in welfare-promoting directions without eliminating freedom of choice. It is also possible to show how a libertarian paternalist might select among the possible options and to assess how much choice to offer. Examples are given from many areas, including savings behavior, labor law, and consumer protection.

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Metadata

Authors
Sunstein, C. R., & Thaler, R. H.
Venue
The University of Chicago Law Review
Publisher
JSTOR
Published
2003
Volume
70
Issue
4
Pages
1159
ISSN
0041-9494 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3021589323
Cited by
1,288
References
34
FWCI
15.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.2307/1600573
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Sunstein, C. R., & Thaler, R. H. (2003). Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron. The University of Chicago Law Review. https://doi.org/10.2307/1600573

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