Behavioural Insights Projects

Saving while being overdrawn costs consumers money. The interest they have to pay is far more than the interest they receive. An experiment tested two interventions aimed at encouraging consumers to use their savings to clear any overdraft, by pre-entering a repayment amount and giving explicit information about costs. These interventions lead to better choices amongst many, although not yet all, consumers. Why this experiment was conducted: saving while being overdrawn costs Dutch citizens…

Institution: Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)

Design of the Behavioral Theory of Change and Impact Measurement Framework for an Edutainment Miniseries to Combat Xenophobia and Discrimination against Venezuelan Migrants with a Gender Lens. This project involves developing a comprehensive behavioral science strategy for an edutainment miniseries supported by the World Bank. The initiative aims to reduce xenophobia and discrimination toward Venezuelan migrants in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia while integrating a gender perspective throughout…

Institution: Instintivo

Team: Instintivo

Oxera and the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences (CESS) conducted a behavioural experiment on behalf of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to identify the effectiveness of certain summary cost metrics in aiding consumer selection of income drawdown products

Institution: Oxera

The Charter of Rights and Responsibilities of Financial Consumers is an initiative designed to counteract consumers' optimism bias and the information asymmetry that typically favors banks over users. To address these behavioral and structural challenges, the initiative employs smart disclosure techniques, including the use of visual prominence and icons to guide users' attention when interacting with the document. This charter is mandated to be displayed physically at bank branches, digitally…

Institution: Superintendency of Bank of the Dominican Republic

Team: Administrative Modernization Agency (AMA)

This study examined how people respond to a new income plan for retirement, known as a Comprehensive Income Product for Retirement (CIPR). A CIPR is a composite retirement income product which is intended to provide a balance of income, risk management (for example, longevity risk management) and flexibility to retirees. In response to a Financial System Inquiry1 recommendation, the Government has agreed to facilitate superannuation trustees pre-selecting a CIPR for their members at retirement.…

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

In Indonesia, a replication of a Growth Mindset intervention had significant impacts on student academic performance – particularly in schools located in regions that could benefit the most. Student learning outcomes in Indonesia have remained lower than their regional neighbors and other middle-income countries, as suggested by the results of the Program for International Student Assessment – PISA. Aside from socioeconomic conditions and access to educational resources, student motivation…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

Avoiding electrical waste and promoting the manufacture of and demand for sustainable electrical products are key goals for the Federal Government. To this end, transparency for consumers is to be improved. Whether a lifespan label for electrical products can help achieve this aim was tested in an empirical study. The findings show that a lifespan label would lead to 3 out of 100 consumers opting for a more expensive product with a longer lifespan. When the lifespan was combined with information…

Team: Behavioral Sciences Team

This study tested a behavioral intervention aiming to help reduce the prevalence of anemia in children in El Salvador. It first describes a traditional micronutrient distribution program for rural households. The analysis shows that although implementation was relatively successful, and take-up high, adherence to the full treatment of micronutrients was much lower. To explain this gap, the analysis employs a design methodology based on the “caregiver journey.” This methodology is a…

Institution: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Home Energy Label

Institution: Impact and Innovation Hub (IIU)- Impact Canada

Team: Behavioural Science Team

The 'Doe meer met taal' (Get more out of language) campaign was launched to reach out to individuals with limited literacy skills whose mother tongue is Dutch. At its conclusion, people in the target group said they felt more motivated to improve their language skills. They are also more inclined to take proactive steps, for example by engaging in language-related activities at home. 66,000 people visited the campaign website. Why this experiment was conducted: everyone should be equipped with…

Institution: Netherlands Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and Ministry of Education, Culture and Science