When the Nudge Fails: The Limits of Behavioural Individualism and the Case for Meta-nudge

This paper explores the limits of behavioural public policy by critically addressing the debate between i-frame and s-frame approaches. It challenges the dichotomy that frames nudges as tools exclusively aimed at individual decision-making (i-frame), while structural reforms are seen as systemic interventions (s-frame). Drawing on Bobbio’s functional taxonomy of legal measures and recent literature on meta-nudges and choice infrastructures, the paper argues that certain behavioural interventions — especially those targeting public officials or institutional processes — can produce systemic effects. Through the example of the “principle of trust” in the Italian Public Contracts Code, the analysis illustrates how regulatory nudges can transform administrative behaviour and reshape decision-making contexts. The aim is to develop a more integrated understanding of behavioural regulation, one that accounts for the interaction between interventions and the social, legal, and institutional environment in which they operate.