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on Nudge and Boosting |
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Issue of 2025–05–26
four papers chosen by Marco Novarese, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Tim Kaiser; Juliane Kloidt; Jutta Mata; Ralph Hertwig |
| Abstract: | Behavioral science interventions like incentives, nudges, and boosts are increasingly used in public policy, but their effectiveness remains debated. We conducted a meta-meta-analysis on behavior change interventions across health, finance, and sustainability outcomes. Our analysis covers 838 effects from 269 meta-analyses, encompassing 6, 327 randomized controlled trials and over 9 million individuals from non-clinical populations of all ages in both developed and developing economies. Our findings tell two stories: First, extracted treatment effects are generally positive but highly variable (M = .173; SD = .195), indicating some interventions impact behavior. However, after adjusting for publication bias, the mean posterior effect pooling domains and interventions is .063 (95% credible interval .044 to .08, BF10 = 139.8) with substantial unexplained heterogeneity (τ̂ = .129). Future research requires improved reporting and deeper contextual analysis to address this heterogeneity. Even small effect sizes can yield significant impacts when scaled across populations and sustained over time. |
| Keywords: | behaviour-change, intervention, heterogeneity, boosting, nudging, publication bias, Bayesian meta-meta-analysis. |
| JEL: | D91 G41 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11863 |
| By: | Daniel F. Zarama Rojas |
| Abstract: | The role of nudges is not clear in recent behavioral economics literature, while reviews call for scrutiny into the theoretical foundations from which they stem. This essay answers to that call by conceptualizing biases as part of epistemic vices and analyzing the extent to which nudges may be an adequate tool to address them. I propose a new conceptual framework for biases: virtue epistemology (VE). VE allows to associate biases with identifiable individual traits called epistemic vices, which negatively affect an individual’s capacity to judge. In this document, I discuss how a VE framework may be used for the study of cognitive biases and its possible repercussions for behavioral public policy. I advance that the different ways in which epistemic vices could lead to cognitive biases suggest that nudges are better suited to suppress the harm associated with one type of vice (obstructivist) than those brought by another (reliabilist). |
| Keywords: | nudges, biases, virtue epistemology, epistemic vices, public policy. |
| JEL: | B40 D91 D62 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2025-06 |
| By: | Laetitia Dillenseger; Claire Mouminoux |
| Abstract: | Creating a sustainable society necessitates policies that foster human well-being and encourage individuals to engage in pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) aimed at reducing their environmental footprint. However, the compatibility of these goals remains uncertain. While pro-environmental behavior often correlates positively with individuals’ well-being, the causal relationship between such actions and hedonic well-being (HWB) remains unclear. Similarly, the influence of subjective well-being (SWB) on PEB warrants further investigation. Based on a field experiment, supplemented by online surveys, in which French university students (n=393) could participate in a paid or unpaid volunteer waste collection, or donate to an environmental association, according to random allocation to different treatment groups, we find evidence of a virtuous loop between pro-environmental actions and SWB. Happiness is a determinant of voluntary waste collection participation, but not for paid waste collection or monetary donation. Additionally, participation in waste collection, whether paid or unpaid, significantly increases overall HWB. These results suggest that policies targeting human well-being are likely to encourage voluntary PEB and benefit from a leverage effect, as PEB, in turn, increases human well-being. |
| Keywords: | Pro-environmental behaviors, Subjective well-being, Field experiment, Waste collection, Donation. |
| JEL: | Q50 I31 C93 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2024-44 |
| By: | Yao, Shunxin |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the behavioral economics impact of a nudge intervention on the saving rate of Australia's First Nations people. We use the Difference-in-Difference (DID) method to compare saving behavior before and after intervention, controlling important factors like cultural identity and income. Results show that after the nudge, First Nation people's saving rate significantly increased, indicating the intervention is effective. Heterogeneity analysis further finds that people with stronger cultural identity respond more to the nudge. This research provides a new idea for promoting the financial well-being of indigenous communities. Key words: First Nation People; Nudge intervention; Behavioral Economics; Saving; Cultural identification |
| Date: | 2025–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:hp3f8_v1 |