Conserving nothing but trouble?
January 30, 2025
Ivo Vlaev and Marco J Haenssgen argue that research and policy collaboration with indigenous communities is key to long term conservation success. … More Conserving nothing but trouble?
Tag: public policy
Meat and manhood: Unpacking resistance to reduced meat consumption
December 26, 2024
Excessive meat consumption is increasingly scrutinised for its impacts on the environment, animal welfare, and public health. Men’s consumption of meat is higher than women’s, driven not just by taste preferences and higher caloric needs, but also social expectations surrounding men’s diets. Public messaging to reduce a behaviour as deeply ingrained as meat eating—a food that humans have consumed for at least 2.5 million years—can expect to face significant resistance. Behavioural public policy may offer unique tools to address this, but has to be careful not to trigger psychological defences. … More Meat and manhood: Unpacking resistance to reduced meat consumption
Behavioural Public Policy: A Personal History
October 28, 2024
Adam Oliver (LSE) describes how he became involved in the field of behavioural public policy, detailing hw the intellectual architecture came into existence and his hopes for how it might develop in the future. This blog was written ahead of his 9 December 2024 LSE inaugural lecture on the same topic.
A Nudge+ for Peruvian Pension Drawdown
September 30, 2024
Policies allowing pension withdrawals at any age in Peru could leave people short of essential savings, Constanza Valdez suggests a “Nudge+ intervention to prompt a little careful reflection before people head to the shops with their savings cash … More A Nudge+ for Peruvian Pension Drawdown
The Future of Trust
March 7, 2024
In this blog Ros Taylor, author of “The Future of Trust” highlights the complex causes of distrust. Causes that can be invisible to those who interactions with the state may be occasionally frustrating rather than existential. Modern society requires large amounts of institutional trust in order to function. Policymakers need to understand and engage with the causes of distrust. … More The Future of Trust
Economics deserves its Nobel
December 14, 2023
Erik Angner argues that, far from being “a made-up Nobel” economics is the most suitable discipline for a Nobel prize: Economics is about helping people live lives worth living.,Nobody illustrates this point better than this year’s laureate. … More Economics deserves its Nobel
Communicating by Numbers: How and What
October 13, 2023
Communicators often use their intuitions to decide what to present, and they don’t always use numbers. Including numbers can have beneficial effects, for example in the willingness to vaccinate. In this blog Ellen Peters and Brittany Shoots-Reinhard share the lessons from 20 years of research into communicating with numbers. … More Communicating by Numbers: How and What
Disaster preparedness: Will a “norm nudge” sink or swim?
September 28, 2023
In a world increasingly vulnerable to climate change-induced flooding, this blog delves into an intriguing study exploring how social norms may be harnessed to improve flood preparedness among homeowners. While the study’s outcomes may challenge our initial assumptions, they underline the importance of methodical testing within the realm of behavioral science. Additionally, we take a moment to honor Howard Kunreuther’s enduring dedication to disaster resilience and his lasting influence on the field. Through this examination, we delve into the world of social norms, behavioral nudges, and the unending pursuit of safer and more resilient … More Disaster preparedness: Will a “norm nudge” sink or swim?
Meta-Nudging: Putting collective momentum into behaviour change
August 2, 2022
What happens when a behavioural nudge is removed? How can the momentum be maintained? Is it a “one and done” situation or will behaviour revert? Eugen Dimant, and Shaul Shalvi argue for “meta-nudging” – tapping into influencers in existing social contexts to delegate the policing of new norms. In situations where dishonesty can be individually beneficial but collectively harmful then nudging influencers could play an important part in successful change. The meta-nudge could be a useful complement to “classic” nudge … More Meta-Nudging: Putting collective momentum into behaviour change
Behaviour Change through Choice Architecture: Where do we stand?
June 16, 2022
What does a decade of attention to Choice Architecture in policy tell us about the effectiveness of interventions? Are some types of intervention more effective than others? Are choice architecture interventions more effective in some behavioural domains than others? In this blog the authors of a recent meta-analysis of the behavioural public policy literature covering past interventions reflect on their findings looking at the variations in effects and on publication bias in the choice architecture literature. They argue that regardless of absolute effect sizes, which need to be treated with some caution, the meta-analysis may be useful to guide policymakers in choices between types of interventions. … More Behaviour Change through Choice Architecture: Where do we stand?