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on Nudge and Boosting |
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Issue of 2025–09–29
two papers chosen by Marco Novarese, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Hardaker, Adam; Asanov, Igor; Bartoš, František; Bruns, Stephan B. |
| Abstract: | Behavioral interventions on citizens are often promoted as a low-cost route to induce environmen-tally friendly behavior, yet published estimates of their effectiveness are highly variable and prone to selective reporting. We reanalyzed the evidence of behavioral interventions on citizens. We con-ducted Robust Bayesian Meta-Analysis (RoBMA), averaging across a full set of publication-bias adjusted models, to the 144 effect estimates (91 studies) compiled by Nisa et al. (2019). The bias-adjusted model-averaged posterior mean standardized effect of behavioral interventions on citizens is shrunk to 0.00 (95 % credible interval 0.00; 0.00), with a Bayes factor of 66 favoring the null. Accordingly, the previously reported noteworthy mean benefit of -0.093 (95% confidence interval -0.123; -0.063) of behavioral interventions, including promising light-touch interventions (nudges or social comparison), on households and individuals is an artefact of publication bias. There is, how-ever, evidence for small between-study heterogeneity, indicating that some specific interventions might have an effect. Exploratory subgroup tests offered only weak, inconsistent hints of context-specific gains. These results imply that, on average, behavioral interventions on households and individuals are unlikely to deliver material climate benefits. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral interventions, Climate change mitigation, Publication bias, Robust Bayes-ian Meta-Analysis, Pro-environmental behavior |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:263 |
| By: | Marie-Estelle Binet (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, AMURE - Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - IFREMER - Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer - UBO - Université de Brest - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Maria Garcia-Valiñas (Universidad de Oviedo = University of Oviedo); Sara Suarez-Fernandez (Universidad de Oviedo = University of Oviedo) |
| Abstract: | Nudging has emerged as an alternative policy for managing water demand in the residential sector. Indeed, numerous field studies have been recently published to assess the impact of nudges on water consumption. In parallel, a substantial body of literature has developed in the field of behavioral economics, including laboratory experiments to evaluate the effects of nudge-type or boost treatments on individual behavior. However, the corresponding results are frequently overlooked in field studies. In this context, focusing on the residential water sector, the aim of this survey paper are, first, to review field experiments and address key issues in behavioral economics; and second, to present results obtained from laboratory experiments that could enhance nudging policies. We conclude by discussing additional unexplored areas and their policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Experimental economics, Water sustainable management, Nudging |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04567861 |