Prize for Andreas Schmidt for article on Ethics, Leadership, and Public Policy

Andreas Schmidt has won the second prize of a paper competition held by the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.

The Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston awards a prize of $12,000 annually for the best published article on ethics, leadership, and public policy. An award of $3,000 is awarded for honorable mention.

Getting Real on Rationality - Behavioral Science, Nudging, and Public Policy

This year's honourable mention, the second prize, was awarded to Andreas Schmidt for his article Getting Real on Rationality—Behavioral Science, Nudging, and Public Policy (Ethics, 2019). The article draws on behavioral economics, psychological research, and philosophical argumentation to defend a more widespread use of nudge policies by policy-makers. The article moves from detailed analytical arguments to real-world examples to raise questions about the justifiability of policies that encourage or discourage various behaviors.

The prize committee found the article to be an exceptionally clear and readable and important addition to debates about economic rationality and standards of liberalism, and also identified it as an excellent article to teach in ethics and public administration/public policy class.

More information

This year's first prize was awarded to Shannon Portillo, Domonic Bearfield and Norma M. Riccucci for their article The Disenfranchisement of Voters of Color (Redux, Public Integrity, 2021).

• Original University of Houston news article, including summaries of both articles
• University of Groningen profile page Andreas Schmidt
• Personal website Andreas Schmidt

This article was published by the Faculty of Philosophy.

• Read more news by the Faculty of Philosophy.