Taken to the Limit?
Exploring the Boundaries of Government's Influence on People's Behaviour in 21st Century Britain
Published in April 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-1-4051-7631-6 (ISBN)
Description
Government is accused of nannying as if nanny were listened to. But government's impact on how we behave is highly questionable. From crime to neighbourhoods, migration to smoking, religious belief to energy consumption, behaviour often seems impervious to injunctions or prohibitions from the state. What behaviours have changed during ten years of a left-liberal, 'progressive' government? But if not government, what makes people alter the way they behave. Economists say prices but markets themselves depend on assumptions and rules, which may have a life of their own. Is government effectiveness determined by scale or location? Would more local government make us more responsive? Does government need to be subtler in the way it puts out messages about bad behaviour, seeking to influence indirectly rather than ordain?These essays, from some of the most acute observers of government and public conduct in modern Britain, examine how effective government is in securing changes in behaviour and make recommendations for change.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicester
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
academics and students of economics, politics and social policy, non-government organisations
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 171 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4051-7631-6 (9781405176316)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Walker edits Public, the Guardian's monthly magazine for public sector executives and is a regular presenter of BBC Radio Four's Analysis programme. He is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council and a trustee of the National Centre for Social Research and the Nuffield Trust.
Content
Introduction: David Walker.Government and how we behave: Catherine Fieschi (director Demos).The trust conundrum: David Halpern (Prime Minister's Strategy Unit).Price signals and prohibitions: Graham Mather (president, European Policy Forum).Are attitudes behaviour?: Norman Glass (chief executive, National Centre for Social Research).It's not so hollow: Colin Crouch (University of Warwick). Reshaping for state effectiveness 1: Ann Rossiter (director, Social Market Foundation).Reshaping for state effectiveness 2: Christopher Hood (All Soul's College, Oxford and director, ESRC research programme on public services).Can governments make us more equal: Colm O'Cinnede (University College, London). Can government inculcate knowledge: Howard Davies (director, London School of Economics).Letting go 1: Will Hutton (chief executive, the Work Foundation).Letting go 2: Ed Miliband MP (minister for the third sector, Cabinet Office).Can governments make us more socially mobile: David Willetts MP (shadow education spokesman).State and faith: Iain Maclean (Nuffield College, Oxford).Can government affect the urge to migrate: Michael Keith (Goldsmith's College, London).Can government make us better neighbours: Geoff Mulgan (chief executive, the Young Foundation).Influence and injunction: Miranda Lewis (associate director, Institute for Public Policy Research).Criminal behaviour and government: Michael Tonry (University of Minnesota). Can government make us save energy: Dieter Helm (consultant, fellow New College, Oxford).Can government make us greener: Barbara Young (chief executive, Environment Agency).Can government make us healthier: Mike Kelly (public health excellence centre, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence).