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on Nudge and Boosting |
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Issue of 2026–06–08
four papers chosen by Marco Novarese, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Gray-Lobe, Guthrie; Kremer, Michael; de Laat, Joost; Mbonu, Oluchi; Scanlon, Cole |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates a large-scale text message (SMS) outreach program to engage caregivers of students in private primary schools in Kenya. Using a two-stage randomization design, the study tested two types of weekly SMS messages: growth-mindset encouragement and personalized performance information. The findings show two main effects. First, outreach improved test scores by 0.07 standard deviations, with particularly strong gains among initially lower-performing students. This improvement generates 12 learning-adjusted years of schooling per US$100 spent—making it highly cost-effective relative to other education interventions. Second, outreach increased student exit rates by 4.7–5.0 percentage points, with effects concentrated among higher-achieving students (5.7 to 6.6 percentage points). The study developed a theoretical model of vertically differentiated schools where parental engagement affects both learning production and school choice. The model shows that when parents update their understanding of education production through engagement programs, they become more sensitive to perceived differences in school quality. This increased sensitivity can lead lower-quality schools to forgo implementing engagement programs—even when costless—as enhanced parental discernment accelerates student exits. The findings suggest a role for third-party provision of parent engagement programs in competitive education markets. |
| Date: | 2026–05–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11387 |
| By: | Luca Henkel; Christoph Oslislo; Frederik Schwerter |
| Abstract: | We identify cue-based beliefs as a source of context dependence in charitable giving. Adapting associative memory models to donations, we predict that cues shift giving by changing which beneficiaries and needs come to mind, even when the cues are uninformative about the donation decision. In online experiments, cues that draw attention to global needs increase giving to an international cause, whereas cues that draw attention to local needs reduce it. Open-ended text responses confirm the attentional mechanism. Applying the framework to fundraising design, we predict that neighborhood-based group appeals–which can raise giving when the charity's mission is local–may backfire when the charity's mission is global. In a natural field experiment with 105, 000 donors to a charity with a global mission, such an appeal reduces pledge take-up by 33%. A complementary online experiment replicates this effect and shows that the appeal shifts attention toward local recipients and away from global ones. Heterogeneity reinforces this interpretation because, in both settings, the group appeal backfires most where baseline behavior suggests that global needs would otherwise have been more likely to come to mind. The results help organize evidence on media-driven shifts in giving, boomerang effects of norm nudges, failures of priming interventions to replicate, and the sensitivity of redistribution preferences to salient recipients. |
| Keywords: | memory, nudging, salience, fundraising campaigns |
| JEL: | D64 D90 L31 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12688 |
| By: | Dietrich, Stephan (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, RS: GSBE MGSoG, RS: UNU-MERIT Theme 2); Markhof, Yannick (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, RS: GSBE MGSoG); Vincent, Rose Camille |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence on bureaucratic fragmentation and weak tax administrations as central enablers of low revenue mobilization in low-income countries. In collaboration with the municipal and national tax authorities in Kampala, Uganda, we cross-link previously siloed tax records for 155, 000 firms and conduct a large-scale experiment with 60, 000 firms. We document pervasive and selective tax evasion: only 14% of verifiably active firms comply with both government tiers. Cross-record linkage almost triples detectable non-compliance while offering increased enforcement efficiency. This coordination dividend is left untapped. Firms exploit the resulting loopholes through partial informality, re-registering under new identities, and strategic late payments. In a cross-authority field experiment, deterrence nudges, including messages signaling inter-authority coordination, fail to offer a light-touch alternative to addressing fragmentation directly. Our findings establish bureaucratic fragmentation as a distinct and costly source of passive waste in tax administration that existing approaches to revenue mobilization rarely address. |
| Keywords: | Taxation, Tax evasion, Tax administration, Low-income countries, Nudges |
| JEL: | H26 H20 H71 C93 O12 |
| Date: | 2026–05–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2026007 |
| By: | Diya Abraham (Department of Economics, University of Reading); Ondrej Krcal (Department of Economics, Masaryk University, Brno); Jonathan Stäbler (Department of Economics, Masaryk University, Brno) |
| Abstract: | Primary healthcare systems in many developed countries are under strain, partly due to unrestricted patient demand. In response, policymakers have introduced measures to curb unnecessary GP visits, including (i) instituting a small upfront fee for GP visits, (ii) implementing a self-report based triage system, and (iii) providing more information to patients about their condition before they make an appointment with their GP. We evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches using two online experiments with a representative sample of UK adults. The first experiment involves induced monetary incentives in a laboratory-style study while the second is a health-framed vignette study. We find that while all three interventions are effective in the laboratory study, only the intervention that provides patients with more information about their condition reduces low-priority demand in the vignette study. We discuss implications for policy and for the study of health-related decision-making. |
| Keywords: | health care systems, common pool dilemma, type uncertainty, online experiment |
| JEL: | C90 D23 D91 J53 |
| Date: | 2026–05–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2026-04 |