Michele Belot, Professor of Economics and Director of the Behavioural Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh (BLUE), presents the third lecture in the 2014 Our Changing World series, entitled "Behavioural Economics and Health Behaviours".
The last century has seen a dramatic increase in "lifestyle" diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. The rapid change we have experienced in modern technologies and availability of food has led to substantial changes in our lifestyle: We spend most of our days indoors, with little exercise and eating food coming from all parts of the world and processed in various ways.
These changes have happened fast, and arguably perhaps too fast for us to adapt, such that most developed countries are now facing a major public health crisis. This lecture aims to describe how Behavioural Economics can help design appropriate policy interventions to achieve behavioural change.
http://www.ed.ac.uk/about/edinburgh-global/academies/changing-world/2014-lectures/behavioural-economics-health
Recorded on Tuesday 7 October 2014 at the University of Edinburgh's Appleton Tower.
