Thesis title: Persuasione, autodeterminazione e trasparenza. Un’analisi di costituzionalità del nudging pubblico.
The thesis analyses the constitutional compatibility of public nudging, i.e. behavioural policies that use psychological and cognitive levers to guide citizens' choices without imposing obligations or prohibitions.
Starting from Thaler and Sunstein's nudge theory and its evolution into nudge regulation, the research reconstructs the theoretical foundations of libertarian paternalism, exploring its impact on administrative action and the democratic legitimacy of power. The analysis focuses in particular on Articles 2 and 97 of the Italian Constitution, which place the individual and the transparency of the administration at the centre, and proposes a balance between individual freedom and public responsibility as a criterion for the constitutional legitimacy of state nudges.
Using a comparative approach with the German and French legal systems for “limited purposes”, the thesis highlights how the principles of self-determination and transparency can serve as common parameters for assessing the lawfulness of nudging policies. On an applied level, concrete cases are analysed – from organ donation to state cashback and the green pass – to verify whether and to what extent these instruments comply with the limits imposed by the constitutional system and meet the criteria of legitimacy of state persuasion on citizens.
The research concludes with a proposal for a constitutionally compliant nudging model, based on legality, proportionality and transparency, capable of combining the effectiveness of public action with the protection of citizens' decision-making autonomy. From this perspective, nudging becomes a lens through which to view the transformations of the contemporary state, reaffirming that, even in the age of persuasion, freedom of choice remains the foundation of the democratic legitimacy of power.