With Barack Obama’s recent pledge to get serious about balancing the budget, the New York Times‘ David Leonhardt sought out the group of people that are, he writes, “ideally suited to help Mr. Obama with this task”: behavioral economists. Citing the work of University of Chicago economist and YUP author Richard Thaler, Leonhardt indicates that further studies into the economics of everyday decision-making could set the example for more responsible federal spending and more efficiently managed resources.

In Nudge, Thaler and co-author Cass Sunstein posit that little changes in the way we think about our money, health, and personal freedoms can improve our daily decisions and be implemented as larger-scale government policies. Leonhardt’s column cites a 2006 pension bill that incentivized 401 (k) participation as behavioral economics’ first “big policy success”. With more input from economists like Thaler, we could see what Leonhardt calls “a better government, one that wastes less money and does more to improve people’s lives.”

For more nudges in the right direction, check out Thaler and Sunstein’s frequently updated Nudges blog.