Cass R. Sunstein, Columnist

Don't Underrate the Power of the Default Option

People suffer when a judge fails to understand a critical behavioral tool.

December 28, 2017 at 10:00 AM UTC

Cass R. Sunstein is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of “The Cost-Benefit Revolution” and a co-author of “Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness.”

Opting out is not as simple as it seems.
Photographer: Francis Joseph Dean/Corbis News/Getty Images

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If Olympic medals were awarded for the most powerful tools in behavioral economics, what would win the gold?

The answer is clear: default rules, which decide what happens if people do nothing at all.