Friedrich Hayek argued for freedom of choice based on outsiders knowing much less than choosers so that interferences with personal freedom will make choosers worse off. This lecture will explore the challenge to that argument that comes from behavioural economics and discusses an ongoing program of research which has created a form of Hayekian behavioural economics.

Meet our speaker and chair

Cass R. Sunstein (@CassSunstein) is currently the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard. From 2009 to 2012, he was Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. He is the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. Professor Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and he has been involved in constitution-making and law reform activities in a number of nations.

Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics of Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at LSE.

More about this event

The Department of Economics (@LSEEcon) at LSE, is one of the leading economics departments in the world. We are a large department, ensuring all mainstream areas of economics are strongly represented in research and teaching.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEHayek

Podcast & Video

A podcast of this event is available to download from Hayekian Behavioural Economics.

A video of this event is available to watch at Hayekian Behavioural Economics.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.