Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy SWISS CONFEDERATION Country Overview
Last updated: 20 February 2016
This country overview complements the "Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy – European Report 2016".
Are you aware of any new or missing information? If so, please provide us here with your contribution!
1. Who
Institutions that apply behavioural insights to policy
Public institutions
Municipal Electric Utility Company of Rorschach Municipal Electric Utility Company of St. Gallen Municipal Electric Utility Company of Zurich
Research institutions
Center for Foundations of Economic Preferences Laboratory for Decision Making U (LMDU), Lausanne (FEP), Zurich Web Experimental Psychology Lab (WebLab) Institute for empirical Research in Economics, Zurich
Other institutions (private and non-profit)
FehrAdvice myblueplanet
Level of implementation
National, Regional Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy (BIAP) Swiss Confederation
2. How
Level of use of behavioural insights
Behaviourally-tested initiatives: initiatives explicitly tested, or scaled out after an initial ✗ ad-hoc experiment.
Behaviourally-informed initiatives: initiatives explicitly based on previously existing ✓ behavioural evidence.
Behaviourally-aligned initiatives: initiatives that, at least a posteriori, are implicitly ✓ aligned with behavioural evidence.
Methodologies used
Literature review Experiments (laboratory, randomised controlled trials)
3. What
Policy areas where behavioural insights are applied
Energy Transport
Examples of policies using behavioural insights
Energy
Encouraging purchase of energy-saving appliances (behaviourally-informed initiative). Behavioural research shows that disclosing lifetime energy operating cost information proves to be most effective in guiding consumers towards a more energy-efficient shopping behaviour, as it addresses present bias. In Switzerland, the platform TopTen.ch provides such kind of lifetime energy operating cost information for different product categories, such as washing machines. Major supermarket chains, such as Coop and Migros use the TopTen Label to inform consumers about the most energy efficient appliances in their stock. [Source: desk research1 2 3]
Promoting green electricity (behaviourally-informed initiative). Several municipal electric utilities companies from various cities in Switzerland (e.g. Zurich, St. Gallen, Rorschach) have changed the default electricity mix to a greener tariff. This was based on behavioural evidence showing that although most people support green electricity (and would also be willing to contribute financially to a greener development of the electricity mix), they often stay with the default electricity product offered by their provider. Rorschach for instance, changed the default electricity tariff - called BASISSTROM - to a 100%
2 Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy (BIAP) Swiss Confederation renewable energy tariff (mainly electricity sourced from hydropower). People can change to a cheaper tariff containing electricity sourced from nuclear power (product called KERNSTROM), or can change to a more expensive tariff containing more green electricity from new renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic and wind power (product called ÖKOSTROM). Experience from St. Gallen and Zürich shows that most people stay with the default tariff which has been offered to them. Specifically, in Rorschach, the intervention led to an increase in the share of green electricity tariffs from 3.6% to 93.2%. [Survey]
Transport
Enhancing tax compliance (behaviourally-aligned initiative). A recent campaign (“Vom Gas-aufs Vedopedal”), in several cities in Switzerland, aimed at breaking existing mobility habits by temporarily providing free access to other means of transport. Local residents were encouraged to hand over their car keys for two weeks or one month in exchange for a free electric bike and free use of the local mobility car-sharing scheme. The campaign has been organized by several cities in Switzerland together with myblueplanet, the car sharing scheme Mobility, and local bicycle shops. Such kinds of real-life examples aim at attracting households to try out a car-ownership free lifestyle, by creating a positive attitude towards such a lifestyle and encouraging the use of other modes of transportation (e.g. cycling, car-sharing, etc.). People ́s choices are mainly driven by habits of past experiences (cfr. the so-called "status quo bias"), but also by perceptions of availability, efficiency and convenience of other modes or transport. Thus, such kind of interventions aim to “break” the “rule of thumb” assessment when it comes to reflecting on the different transport alternatives to owning a car. [Source: questionnaire]
4. Where
Institutional structure and capacity
There is no formal structure, team, or person in charge of, applying behavioural insights within the government, at any administrative level.
Knowledge base
There is a wealth of behavioural courses offered by the research Institutes mentioned above.
Networks and collaborations
N/A
Are you aware of any new or missing information? If so, please provide us here with your contribution!
3 Behavioural Insights Applied to Policy (BIAP) Swiss Confederation
1 Topten (2015). Waschmaschinen. Retrieved on 18 December 2015 from http://www.topten.ch/deutsch/haushalt/waschmaschinen/6kg.html 2 Coop (2015). Gütesiegel. Retrieved on 18 December 2015 from http://www.coop.ch/pb/site/common2/node/81324010/Lde/index.html 3 Migros (2015). Topten. Retrieved on 18 December 2015 from http://www.migros.ch/de/supermarkt/topten.html
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