Behavioral science and policy Michael Hallsworth, PhD Introduction to BIT
• 2010: Founded in UK Cabinet Office the world’s first government institution dedicated to the application of behavioral insights
• 2021: Social purpose company with 200 staff in offices in London, NYC, Sydney, Singapore, Toronto, Wellington, Paris.
• We help organizations to apply findings from behavioral science, design interventions that tackle their challenges, and evaluate the results
2 People are interested in “behavioral insights”…
Behavioural insights 100
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0 2010-01 2011-01 2012-01 2013-01 2014-01 2015-01 2016-01 2017-01 2018-01 2019-01 … all around the world Out now from MIT Press Objectives of today
1. 1.LearnBehavioral a refined and morescience crisp definition asof whata lens through “Behaviouralwhich Insights” we reallysee means all government action
1. Understand the history of where this term came from– and how we fit into it 2. Nudge+, boost, as part of the range of options offered by behavioral science Behavioral Insights and policy making What can these “insights” offer for policy making? Instead of focusing on shifting consumer choices…
Estimated impact of tax on sugared soft drinks 1800 200 Calories lost for soft drink consumers 1600 1,547 180 Tax Revenue
160 Revenue (millionsof pounds) 1400 99% confidence region £155m 140 1200 120 1000 100 800
80 30 30 calories a day 600 60
400 40
200 20
Average reduction in calories per person per month per person per calories in reduction Average 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Tax rate …focus on reformulation…
Affect of reformulation on volume of Affect of reformulation on calories food consumed consumed 5000 3000 4500
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Volume of food consumed (g) consumedoffood Volume 1000
500 Calories consumed over two days two over consumedCalories 500
0 0 100% energy density 75 % energy density 100% energy density 75% energy density
Rolls, B. J., Roe, L. S., & Meengs, J. S. (2006). Reductions in portion size and energy density of foods are additive and lead to sustained decreases in energy intake. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 83(1), 11-17. … by influencing the behavior of corporate actors
Red Bull
Pepsi
7 up
Relentless
Coca-Cola
Tesco Tropical Juice Drink
Tesco Cola
Lucozade energy
Dr Pepper
Fanta
Lipton Ice Tea Lemon
Sprite
Schweppes Lemonade
Tango
Lucozade sport
Tesco Lemonade
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sugar per 100ml (g) Thereby gearing the market more towards health
Bandy, L. K., Scarborough, P., Harrington, R. A., Rayner, M., & Jebb, S. A. (2020). Reductions in sugar sales from soft drinks in the UK from 2015 to 2018. BMC Medicine, 18(1), 1-10.
Pell, et al. (2021). Changes in soft drinks purchased by British households associated with the UK soft drinks industry levy: controlled interrupted time series analysis. British Medical Journal, 372.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/709008/Sugar_reduction_progress_report.pdf Behavioral insights: three core features
“Improving the quality of “Tiered structure for “Automatic enrolment consumer information on sugared drinks tax” in pension schemes”
energy switching”
Strategic Scale of intervention ofScale
“Changing the text in “Reducing friction costs “Designing roll-out appointment reminders to increase uptake of phasing for small
to reduce no-shows” married tax allowance” businesses” Tactical
Information provision Economic incentives Legislation & Regulation
Intensity of intervention Behavioral science as a lens for policy making
• Introduce new options
• Enhance existing options
• Reassess current activity “Behavioral Government” Objectives of today 1. When to nudge, when to boost?
1. 2.LearnWhen a refined anddo more they crisp overlap?definition of what “Behavioural Insights” really means 3. Difficulty of apprehending non- 1. Understandconscious the history behaviorof where this term came from– and how we fit into it 4. What are people’s “true” intentions? 5. Learning costs 6. Wider contribution to democracy [email protected] @mhallsworth www.michaelhallsworth.com