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on Nudge and Boosting |
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Issue of 2026–09–07
three papers chosen by Marco Novarese, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | John A. List; Matthias Rodemeier; Sutanuka Roy; Gregory K. Sun |
| Abstract: | Behavioral interventions have become central to modern public policy, but their empirical promise remains contested because estimated treatment effects often appear small. We argue that a policy response is economically meaningful only relative to the response generated by alternative policies. We assemble more than 1, 200 estimates from over 600 studies comparing “nudges” and traditional price interventions in the markets for cigarettes, alcohol, influenza vaccination, electricity, and residential water. Translating nudge effects into equivalent price changes, we find that behavioral interventions often correspond to enormous fiscal interventions, from an 11% tax on electricity to a 100% subsidy on influenza vaccinations. Nudges are also more cost-effective than price instruments in all markets, but cost-effectiveness does not predict the welfare ranking of policies. Using a behavioral extension of the Marginal Value of Public Funds, we show that nudges have high welfare returns at the margin, while price instruments often generate larger total surplus at scale. |
| JEL: | D61 D83 H21 I12 I18 Q41 Q48 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35567 |
| By: | Kelsey Moran; Gail M. Rosenbaum; Amir Goren; Michelle N. Meyer; Christopher F. Chabris; Joseph J. Doyle Jr. |
| Abstract: | Financial incentives may encourage vaccination, but their cost-effectiveness depends on targeting patients who are most responsive. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with 57, 579 adult patients in an integrated health system during the 2021–2022 influenza season. Patients with an upcoming appointment were randomized to a no-contact control, a simple reminder, a $1 cash incentive, or a scratch-off lottery ticket incentive worth up to $5, 000. Any active intervention increased vaccination at the scheduled appointment by 2 percentage points (an 8% increase over the control mean) and by 1.5 percentage points over the full influenza season. The three active arms did not differ significantly, indicating that small financial incentives provided no additional benefit beyond a reminder. Using electronic health records and area-level characteristics, we used causal forests to estimate conditional average treatment effects. Predicted responsiveness varied substantially: patients in the top quartile were 3–4 times more likely to respond to incentives than those in the bottom quartile, whereas reminder effects were relatively homogeneous. These findings suggest that low-cost reminders can increase influenza vaccination, while machine-learning methods can help identify patients most responsive to small financial incentives. |
| JEL: | I12 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35537 |
| By: | Martinez, Sebastian; Mecerreyes, Cristina; Sanchez-Decotto, Manuela; Vidal, Cecilia |
| Abstract: | Low levels of household sewerage connectivity constitute a pervasive challenge in low-income, peri-urban settings, limiting the potential benefits of sanitation systems. The situation calls for better understanding of what drives households decisions to invest in sewerage connections. This paper tested a multi-component communication campaign that combined broadcast messaging, “edutainment” activities, and personalized outreach. The intensive 11-week campaign was randomly assigned to a subset of 31 neighborhoods in the city of El Alto, Bolivia. The effects on a sample of over 1, 300 households that were not connected to the sewerage system at baseline were then measured. The intervention increased household sewerage connection rates by 11.2 percentage points over 16 months, a 26 percent improvement relative to the control group. Treated households also reported better-quality connections. These results underscore the potential effectiveness of behavioral change strategies delivered through communication and edutainment campaigns to influence sewerage connectivity. |
| Keywords: | Sanitation;sewerage;connectivity;edutainment;communication campaign;behavioral change;Rural and Urban Development |
| JEL: | O12 I15 H54 Q56 C93 |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14714 |