PROJECT SUMMARY
ideas42 and Busara Center for Behavioral Economics worked with a major bank and telecommunications company in Nigeria to send behaviorally-informed SMS messages to customers to increase their use of mobile bank accounts.
IMPACT
Effects varied by message and audience; notably, injunctive norm messages led to a 45 percent increase in the number of clients making deposits among females with active accounts, from 0.82% to 1.81%.
RESULTS
Design
ideas42 and the Busara Center for…
Behavioural Insights Projects
Discover projects applying behavioural science to policy from around the world. Add your own projects, whether completed or still ongoing, to contribute knowledge on BI applications across different countries, policy areas, and topics of interest.
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BETA partnered with the Department of Social Services to determine the effect of behaviourally-informed activity statements on gambling behaviour in a simulated game. We tested two activity statement prototypes and found participants who saw the activity statements bet less than those who did not. Showing participants clear and easy-to-understand information about their gambling activities empowered them to make informed decisions about how much to bet. This project was conducted under Measure 7…
BI Project
Pre-contractual information and billing in the energy market – improved clarity and comparability
The study investigates minimum requirements and options for standardisation of energy offers and bills that ensure increased clarity and comparability, and puts forward better alternative “bill designs”. The study also examines the main factors discouraging energy consumers from switching, with a focus on the impact of exit fees in this decision. Finally, price comparison tools (PCTs) in the energy sector are examined and (independent) verification schemes for such tools are identified.
BI Project
More Than Public Service: A Field Experiment on Job Advertisements and Diversity in the Police
There is a human capital crisis looming in the public sector as fewer and fewer people show interest in government jobs. At the same time, many public sector organizations struggle with increasing the diversity of their workforce. Although many institutional forces contribute to the challenge, part of the solution is in how government recruits. This study presents the results of a field experiment aimed at attracting more and different people to apply to a police force by varying job…
PROJECT SUMMARY
Text messages were delivered to parents of children from 3 to 5 years old enrolled in public preschools in Uruguay using a government mobile app. These messages targeted malleable factors producing students’ absences and sought to influence parent’s attitudes and beliefs about preschool attendance to increase children’s presence in the classroom.
IMPACT
Children in remote areas increased attendance by 1.5 days, suggesting an increase in cognitive development of 0.20 SD.…
SIMPLESMENTE is an acronym formed by the initials of 12 mechanisms studied by the behavioral sciences. SIMPLESMENTE is an application to simplify and support the use of behavioral sciences in public policy designs. Based on a guided script, users define a problem of interest in public policies and are encouraged to assume the user's perspective. They are invited to apply a series of references, based on evidence and international practice, to improve their understanding of the situation and…
BI Project
Encouraging the wearing of face masks in hospitality venues: how to ensure guests wear face masks in…
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, guests were required to wear face masks on entering and while moving inside hospitality venues. To promote this behaviour, self-persuasion and salience techniques were used in this experiment - with notable success. Following the announced relaxation of face mask requirements, there was a decrease in face mask usage, although this was significantly less in hospitality venues that saw interventions than in venues that did not experience interventions.
Why this…
BI Project
Using Group‐ Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Training to Improve Mental Health of SME…
In regions marked by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face increased risk of experiencing chronic stress and poor mentalhealth. In turn, this can lead to poor psychological outcomes, hamper their business performance,and weaken the benefits of existing financial and business assistance programs.
The World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice, in collaboration with the
Mind, Behavior, and…
Overall, this research investigated how to enhance the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder collaboration in tackling climate change. By leveraging two socio-psychological theories – Self-Affirmation Theory (SAT) and Moral Foundations Theory (MFT),this study equipped facilitators with strategies to reduce identity threats, foster constructive dialogs, and ultimately contribute to the development of more effective solutions in the environmental domain.
As of 2007, the UK Ministry of Justice was imposing over £350 million in new court fines annually, only half of which were collected within six months. In 2011, the Ministry faced over £600 million in outstanding unpaid fines.
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), which administers the collection of fines, incurs significant costs from non-compliant debtors. In addition to resources for case-management and follow-up phone calls, bailiffs are assigned to recover the debt…