Synopses & Reviews
The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is the United Statess regulatory overseer. In
Valuing Life, Cass R. Sunstein draws on his firsthand experience as the Administrator of OIRA from 2009 to 2012 to argue that we
can humanize regulationand save lives in the process.
As OIRA Administrator, Sunstein helped oversee regulation in a broad variety of areas, including highway safety, health care, homeland security, immigration, energy, environmental protection, and education. This background allows him to describe OIRA and how it worksand how it can work betterfrom an on-the-ground perspective. Using real-world examples, many of them drawn from todays headlines, Sunstein makes a compelling case for improving cost-benefit analysis, a longtime cornerstone of regulatory decision-making, and for taking account of variables that are hard to quantify, such as dignity and personal privacy. He also shows how regulatory decisions about health, safety, and life itself can benefit from taking into account behavioral and psychological research, including new findings about what scares us, and what does not. By better accounting for peoples fallibility, Sunstein argues, we can create regulation that is simultaneously more human and more likely to achieve its goals.
In this highly readable synthesis of insights from law, policy, economics, and psychology, Sunstein breaks down the intricacies of the regulatory system and offers a new way of thinking about regulation that incorporates human dignity and an insistent focus on the consequences of our choices.
Review
and#8220;Happiness and the Law is lucid, ambitious, and thought-provokingand#8212;a well-written, well-researched, rigorously reasoned, and stimulating contribution to the burgeoning area of the behavioral analysis of law. In taking and defending a strong position on subjective well-being as the best conception of human welfare and offering compelling potential applications to law, the book will become a reference in many scholarly debates.and#8221;
Review
“What happens when the worlds leading academic expert on regulation is plunked into the real world of government? Sunstein is that expert, and he was the regulatory boss of the US government from 2009 to 2012. Valuing Life describes both how Sunsteins ideas about regulation influenced his tenure in government, and how his experiences in government have influenced his ideas about regulation. This immensely rewarding book, written in the humane, beautiful style that Sunstein is known for, should be read by everyone who cares about how our government works.”
Review
“Written with clarity and elegance, this book explains how White House oversight of the federal regulatory state is conducted—both the procedures and the analytics. It is a must read for academics and practitioners interested in improving the quality of federal regulation.”
Review
“An immensely insightful look at one of the least understood and most influential agencies in the government and the complex factors that it considers in helping to determine what is and isn't subject to government regulation. “
Review
“Sunstein, who served as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) from 2009 to 2012, argues that government must always consider the impact of proposed regulation on human life. Sunstein describes how the OIRA actually works, explains the role of break-even analyses in government regulation, and explores how the government might account for risk to nonquantifiable goods, such as privacy. . . . overall this is a lucid book that sheds light on how the government reasons, and how it ought to reason, about the regulations that shape our everyday lives.”
Review
"Does happiness matter? Obviously. Does happiness matter to law? It certainly should. In this provocative, bold, and highly original book, Bronsteen, Buccafusco, and Masur argue that, in numerous areas, our legal system would do much better if it focused on what social scientists have learned about happiness and well-being. It's a major contribution with implications not only for public policy but also for our daily lives."
Review
and#8220;A brilliantly original treatise by the worldand#8217;s foremost authorities on happiness and the law. Bronsteen, Buccafusco, and Masur use theories and data from psychology and economics to answer deep and difficult questions that have vexed thinkers for millennia. A smart and fascinating book!and#8221;
Review
“As an accessible introduction to regulation, the book benefits from Sunsteins recent and significant experience, and his vision for new directions in public policy.”
Review
“There are many economists, philosophers, and legal scholars who write about the value of human life and how to incorporate it into policy, but few of them have actually put this into practice in a government position. The most prominent scholar to do so is Cass Sunstein, whose latest book, Valuing Life: Humanizing the Regulatory State, provides an invaluable perspective from someone who has experience in both the academic and policy realms. . . . In Valuing Life, Sunstein surveys a wide range of practical research and real-life policymaking in his characteristically lucid style, offering a candid and humble account of his administrative tenure in Washington. He performs an invaluable service in revealing how government regulators balance pragmatic concerns of resource scarcity with principled ideals of respect and dignity.”
Review
andldquo;Happiness and the Lawand#160;is an important book. Bronsteen, Buccafusco and Masur (BBM) provide a well-written, thought-provoking, rigorous introduction to hedonic psychology and its many potential applications in law and policy. Numerous lessons are already ripe for consumption by policymakers. Other ideas set the stage for a fruitful research agenda that will influence policy in years to come.andrdquo;
Review
“Sunstein draws on his experience as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to analyze the standards used for government regulations. . . . He provides both clear explanations and concrete examples of how the behavioral orientation in economics can contribute to the world of cost/benefit policy formulation. Recommended.”
Synopsis
Since the earliest days of philosophy, thinkers have debated the meaning of the term happiness and the nature of the good life. But it is only in recent years that the study of happiness—or “hedonics”—has developed into a formal field of inquiry, cutting across a broad range of disciplines and offering insights into a variety of crucial questions of law and public policy.
Law and Happinessbrings together the best and most influential thinkers in the field to explore the question of what makes up happiness—and what factors can be demonstrated to increase or decrease it. Martha Nussbaum offers an account of the way that hedonics can productively be applied to psychology, Cass R. Sunstein considers the unexpected relationship between happiness and health problems, Matthew Adler and Eric A. Posner view hedonics through the lens of cost-benefit analysis, David A. Weisbach considers the relationship between happiness and taxation, and Mark A. Cohen examines the role crime—and fear of crime—can play in peoples assessment of their happiness, and much more.
The result is a kaleidoscopic overview of this increasingly prominent field, offering surprising new perspectives and incisive analyses that will have profound implications on public policy.
Synopsis
Since the earliest days of philosophy, thinkers have debated the meaning of the term happiness and the nature of the good life. But it is only in recent years that the study of happiness-or "hedonics"-has developed into a formal field of inquiry, cutting across a broad range of disciplines and offering insights into a variety of crucial questions of law and public policy.
Law and Happinessbrings together the best and most influential thinkers in the field to explore the question of what makes up happiness-and what factors can be demonstrated to increase or decrease it. Martha Nussbaum offers an account of the way that hedonics can productively be applied to psychology, Cass R. Sunstein considers the unexpected relationship between happiness and health problems, Matthew Adler and Eric A. Posner view hedonics through the lens of cost-benefit analysis, David A. Weisbach considers the relationship between happiness and taxation, and Mark A. Cohen examines the role crime-and fear of crime-can play in people's assessment of their happiness, and much more.
The result is a kaleidoscopic overview of this increasingly prominent field, offering surprising new perspectives and incisive analyses that will have profound implications on public policy.
Synopsis
Happiness and the law. At first glance, these two concepts seem to have little to do with each another. To some, they may even seem diametrically opposed. Yet one of the things the law strives for is to improve peopleand#8217;s quality of life. To do this, it must first predict what will make people happy. Yet happiness research shows that, time and time again, people err in predicting what will make them happy, overestimating the import of money and mistaking the circumstances to which they can and cannot adapt.and#160;and#160;
Drawing on new research in psychology, neuroscience, and economics, the authors of Happiness and the Law assess how the law affects peopleand#8217;s quality of lifeand#151;and how it can do so in a better way. Taking readers through some of the common questions about and objections to the use of happiness research in law and policy, they consider two areas in depth: criminal punishment and civil lawsuits. More broadly, the book proposes a comprehensive approach to assessing human welfareand#151;well-being analysisand#151;that is a valuable alternative to the strictly economically based cost-benefit analyses currently dominating how we evaluate public policy. The study of happiness is the next step in the evolution from traditional economic analysis of the law to a behavioral approach. Happiness and the Law will serve as the definitive, yet accessible, guide to understanding this new paradigm.
Synopsis
In
Valuing Life, Cass R. Sunstein uses his considerable personal experience and knowledge of law, policy, and behavioral studies to show how we can humanize regulation, and why we ought to do so. All governments regulate: they limit private conduct in order to promote important social goals, such as worker safety, clean air, racial and sexual equality, safe food, or greater financial security. As the U.S. regulatory czar,” the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Sunstein oversaw regulation in a dazzling variety of areas, and this experience informs his book
. Valuing Life reveals how OIRA actually worksand how it can work betterfrom an on-the-ground perspective. With engaging examples drawn from his own experience, he explains how OIRA and cost-benefit analysis, a cornerstone of regulatory practice in this country, can benefit from taking behavioral and psychological studies into account. The effectiveness of government is often a product of how people respond to risk or fall prey to certain biases, such as overreaction to bad events. Covering some of the most important topics of our time, the book is linked by three core ideas: we must attend to the human consequences of policies; take account of how people actually behave; and respect human dignity.
About the Author
John Bronsteen is professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Christopher Buccafusco is associate professor at the Illinois Institute of Technologyand#8217;s Chicago-Kent School of Law, where he is also codirector of the Center for Empirical Studies of Intellectual Property. Jonathan S. Masur is professor and deputy dean at the University of Chicago Law School.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Conference on Law and Happiness Eric A. Posner and Cass R. Sunstein
Measuring Well-Being for Public Policy: Preferences or Experiences? Paul Dolan and Tessa Peasgood
Happiness Inequality in the United States Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers
Who Is the Happy Warrior? Philosophy Poses Questions to Psychology Martha C. Nussbaum
Two Recommendations on the Pursuit of Happiness Christopher K. Hsee, Fei Xu, and Ningyu Tang
Hive Psychology, Happiness, and Public Policy Jonathan Haidt, J. Patrick Seder, and Selin Kesebir
Illusory Losses Cass R. Sunstein
Pain and Suffering Awards: They Shouldn’t Be (Just) about Pain and Suffering Peter A. Ubel and George Loewenstein
Death, Happiness, and the Calculation of Compensatory DamagesAndrew J. Oswald and Nattavudh Powdthavee
Happiness Research and Cost-Benefit AnalysisMatthew Adler and Eric A. Posner
What Does Happiness Research Tell Us About Taxation?David A. Weisbach
The Effect of Crime on Life SatisfactionMark A. Cohen
Index