Tuesday Talks - the art of choosing

In this second Tuesday Talks post, for students and teachers looking for some extension material, I’ve picked out another insightful TED talk on how we make choices - you can find it here.

I’ve seen quite a lot of literature over the past few months both in the academic press and more mainstream publications relating to consumer choice, and our inability to make effective decisions when we are faced with too much choice. This seems to fly in the face of classical economic theory which argues that consumer choice is key in ensuring competition and associated efficiencies. One great example of this deliberate reduction in choices available to consumers relates to Morrison’s decision to reduce the size of it’s range of balsamic vinegar available in store. Much of this debate over consumer choice has, I think, stemmed from Thaler and Sunstein’s bestselling book Nudge, which is well worth a read! There is also an interesting blog relating to the ‘nudge’ concept.

Once you’ve digested the talk, and some of the other associated material that I’ve mentioned, you could think about the following questions:

1. How many options do you think consumers can realistically cope with, and still make the most efficient decision?
2. Carry out some research to come up with examples where choice has been deliberately restricted in order to help consumers with their decisions.
3. Carry out some research to come up with examples where consumers are faced with a wide range of choices. How do consumers make their decisions in these markets?
4. Is it right that governments may try to affect the outcome of our decision-making? For example, should governments change the system of organ donation to an opt-out system, rather than the current opt-in system (some details here).