627. Sludge, Part 1: The World Is Drowning in It

Insurance forms that make no sense. Subscriptions that can’t be cancelled. A never-ending blizzard of automated notifications. Where does all this sludge come from — and how much is it costing us? (Part one of a two-part series .) SOURCES: Benjamin Handel, professor of economics at UC Berkeley. Neale Mahoney, professor of economics at Stanford University. Richard Thaler, professor of economics at The University of Chicago. RESOURCES: " Selling Subscriptions, " by Liran Einav, Ben Klopack, and Neale Mahoney (Stanford University, 2023). " The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok, " by Cory Doctorow (WIRED, 2023). " Dominated Options in Health Insurance Plans, " by Chenyuan Liu and Justin Sydnor (American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022). Nudge (The Final Edition) , by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (2021). " Frictions or Mental Gaps: What’s Behind the Information We (Don’t) Use and When Do We Care? " by Benjamin Handel and Joshua Schwartzstein (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2018). " Adverse Selection and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Markets: When Nudging Hurts, " by Benjamin Handel (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011). EXTRAS: " People Aren’t Dumb. The World Is H…