Cass Sunstein

Cass Sunstein
Name	Cass Sunstein
Birth date	21 September 1954
Birth place	Concord, Massachusetts
Education	Harvard College (BA), Harvard Law School (JD)
Spouse	Samantha Power (m. 2008)
Workplaces	Harvard Law School, University of Chicago Law School
Notable works	Nudge, The World According to Star Wars, #Republic
Awards	Holberg Prize (2018)

Cass Sunstein is an American legal scholar and public intellectual renowned for his influential work in behavioral economics, administrative law, and constitutional law. He served as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under President Barack Obama and has held prominent professorships at Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago Law School. Sunstein is a prolific author, co-authoring the bestselling book Nudge with Richard Thaler, which popularized the concept of libertarian paternalism and influenced public policy worldwide.

Early life and education

Born in Concord, Massachusetts, he is the son of Marian Sunstein, a dedicated teacher and activist. He attended Middlesex School before enrolling at Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1975 with a degree in liberal arts. He then pursued his legal education at Harvard Law School, serving as an editor for the prestigious Harvard Law Review and graduating magna cum laude in 1978. His early academic mentors included notable legal philosophers and scholars who shaped his interdisciplinary approach to law.

Academic career

After clerking for Judge Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court of the United States, he began his teaching career at the University of Chicago Law School. He became a leading figure in the Law and Economics movement there, eventually being named the Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence. In 2008, he returned to Harvard Law School as the Robert Walmsley University Professor, one of the university's highest academic honors. His scholarship has profoundly influenced fields such as risk regulation, environmental law, and First Amendment theory.

Government service

From 2009 to 2012, he served under President Barack Obama as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget. In this role, he was a key architect of the administration's regulatory review process, applying insights from behavioral science to improve policy outcomes in areas like healthcare, consumer protection, and energy efficiency. His tenure focused on promoting cost-effective regulations, enhancing public disclosure, and modernizing the federal government's approach to administrative law.

Major works and ideas

He is the author or co-author of hundreds of articles and dozens of books that span multiple disciplines. His seminal work, Nudge, co-authored with Richard Thaler, introduced the concept of choice architecture to a broad audience, arguing for subtle policy interventions that steer people toward better decisions without restricting freedom. Other significant works include #Republic, which examines the dangers of information cocoons in a democracy, Risk and Reason, analyzing regulatory policy, and The World According to Star Wars, a cultural analysis of the Star Wars franchise. His ideas on libertarian paternalism have been adopted by governments worldwide, including the United Kingdom's Behavioural Insights Team.

Awards and recognition

His contributions to legal and social science research have earned him numerous accolades. In 2018, he was awarded the international Holberg Prize for his pioneering work in law and behavioral economics. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received honorary degrees from institutions such as the University of Copenhagen. His book Nudge was named a book of the year by The Economist and has been highly influential within the World Bank and the United Nations.

Personal life

He is married to Samantha Power, a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and current Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. The couple has two children and resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An avid writer on diverse topics, he has also authored works on animal rights, constitutional interpretation, and the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, reflecting his wide-ranging intellectual curiosity.

Category:American legal scholars Category:Harvard Law School faculty Category:University of Chicago Law School faculty Category:Behavioral economists