Political Quarterly Special Issues
1 total work
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.