Dr. Jörn Reinhardt
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
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Title
Sustainable consumption: Information regulation, consumer democracy, and the rule of law
Faculty
Law
Background of the project
In order to support sustainability in consumption, policy-makers tend to rely on information regulation as command-and-control type regulatory interventions are often considered to be impracticable. However, information regulation as a policy instrument is ambivalent. Research in psychology and behavioural economics suggests that the mere provision of accurate information has limited impact on consumer choice. These empirical findings raise doubts about both the very possibility of providing factual and neutral information and the effectiveness of improving consumer decisions by mandating information disclosure. The effectiveness of information policies depends crucially on the way they modify and present the choices individuals face. Therefore, concepts such as choice architecture or nudge play an increasing role as instruments of government regulatory efforts. The ambition is to frame and contextualise information in such a way that a certain decision or behaviour is made more salient than others, and they are often designed to activate and cultivate a sense of responsibility in consumers. Digitalisation and online technologies open further opportunities, in contexts when consumer choice is directly relevant but also more broadly („Smart Home“, „Smart City“ etc.). Designing an information regime conducive to sustainability in consumption is not simply a matter of political will, however. Research and discussion about the possibility and effectiveness of these interventions is ongoing in the behavioural and social sciences. It also raises fundamental legal and ethical questions.
Objectives
The aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the possible legal frameworks for (governmental) policies aiming to strengthen sustainable consumption. One of the goals is to characterise the variety of government information policies in terms of their regulatory technique. What are the adequate legal categories to assess informatory (government) interventions in a complex consumer democracy? The great variety of techniques to provide and regulate consumer information makes the legal characterisation of these instruments difficult and often controversial. A further aim is to identify ethical and legal conflicts that result from these policies: Which ethical and legal conflicts result f. ex. with respect to the idea of autonomous decision making and, regarding digital tools of governance, privacy and data protection?
Format
Workshop, Warburg-Haus, Hamburg, 7.-8. September 2017
Participants: Marion Albers (Universität Hamburg), James Connelly (University of Hull, UK), Peter Cserne (University of Hull, UK), Jörn Lamla (Universität Kassel), Joasia Luzak (University of Exeter, UK), Fabian Pittroff (Universität Kassel), Jörn Reinhardt (Universität Hamburg), Mike Varney (University of Hull, UK), Justus Vasel (NYU/Universität St. Gallen, CH), Franziska Weber (Universität Hamburg), Vignesh Yoganathan (University of Northumbria, UK)
Partner
Dr. Peter Cserne, University of Hull, School of Law and Politics