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on Nudge and Boosting |
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Issue of 2023‒09‒11
two papers chosen by |
| By: | Johannes Gessner; Wolfgang Habla; Ulrich J. Wagner |
| Abstract: | Under pressure to reduce CO2 emissions, companies are beginning to replace subsidized company car schemes with so-called mobility budgets that employees can spend on leisure and commuting trips, using a broad range of transport modes. Given their novelty, little is known about how mobility budgets should be designed to encourage sustainable choices. Since prices play a limited role in this subsidized setting, our study focuses on behavioral interventions. In a field experiment with 341 employees of a large German company, we test whether social comparisons, either in isolation or in combination with a climate-related moral appeal, can change the use of different means of transportation. We find strong evidence for a reduction in car-related mobility in response to the combined treatment, which is driven by changes in taxi and ride-sharing services. This is accompanied by substitution towards micromobility, i.e., transport modes such as shared e-scooters or bikes, but not towards public transport. We do not find any effects of the social comparison alone. Our results demonstrate that small, norm-based nudges can change transportation behavior, albeit for a limited time. |
| Keywords: | mobility behavior, randomized experiment, nudging, descriptive norm, injunc- tive norm, social norms, moral appeal, habit formation |
| JEL: | C93 D04 D91 L91 |
| Date: | 2023–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_451&r=nud |
| By: | Hendrik Bruns; Adrien Fillon,; Zacharias Maniadis; Yavor Paunov |
| Abstract: | Does transparency reduce the effectiveness of nudges? The question is central in recent research about nudges, since it leads to ethical and practical implications regarding responsibility, agency, the design of nudges and policy-making. We meta-analysed results from 19 studies comparing transparent to opaque nudges and found no difference in the effectiveness of the nudge. We then tested several moderators such as the type of experiment (Online, Laboratory, Field), Category (structure, information, assistance) and domain (environment, food, health, pro-social and other) and found no meaningful moderator. We note that only two studies were conducted in the field and that there is an over-representation of default nudges in the studies included. We call for an improvement of research conducted on transparent nudges and the inclusion of more types of nudges, preferably in a field setting. It is also important to define what form of transparency societies require for respecting their citizen’s autonomy. |
| Keywords: | nudge, transparency, meta-analysis, review |
| Date: | 2023–08–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:04-2023&r=nud |