Database of Behavioral Economics Interventions
Searchable database of 650+ case studies and interventions from business, public and non-profit sectors
List of 706 Database entries
Significant events motivated people to start working on their goals
Researchers conducted an experiment to investigate when people naturally experience enhanced motivation to achieve their goals.
Participants of the experiment could choose the date they wanted to receive a reminder about a goal they ...
Meaningful landmarks motivated goal-achieving behavior
Researchers tested the fresh start effect by conducting a laboratory experiment. People who failed to achieve an important goal the year before and planned to pursue it again were recruited. Some of the participants had ...
Incentives framed as losses increased worker productivity
Researchers aimed at understanding ways they could help increase workers´ productivity by using loss aversion.
Participants of the experimental group were told they would get a bonus at the end of each month, ...
Placing a sticker of germs in the bathroom to motivate handwashing behavior of children
Failing to wash hands correctly contributes to nearly 50% of all foodborne illness outbreaks. Aiming to motivate children to wash their hands thoroughly may often be unsuccessful. Simply reminding children by placing a sticker ...
The default entry in wage deductions increased the savings rate by 40%
In cooperation with the primary Afghan mobile phone operator, researchers designed and deployed a new automatic payroll deductions system based on mobile phones.
Each of the 967 employees in the largest company in ...
Change of the default increased the joint-and-survivor annuitization of 5% to 10%
Researcher Saku examined the impact of the 1984 amendment that requires explicit spousal consent to opt-out of a joint-and-survivor annuity. By this time, all firms have been offering joint-and-survivor options to their pension beneficiaries.
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A contribution escalator feature increased employees´ contributions by 10.1%
Researchers wanted to prove the impact of automatic increases in contributions on saving rates.
At the studied company, employees who elected the contribution escalator feature saw their savings plan contributions increase by 10,1% over four years, ...
Choice overload caused a decrease in participation rate in 401(k) plan
Although extensive choices seem appealing, research shows that they may hinder motivation to buy and decrease subsequent satisfaction with purchased goods.
Researchers documented a strong negative relationship between the number of funds offered in ...
Requiring employees to make an active choice about enrollment lead to higher participation rates
Defaults can have a dramatic influence on consumer decisions. Researchers identified an overlooked but practical alternative to defaults: requiring individuals to make an explicit choice for themselves. They studied such "active decisions" in the ...
The default option influenced the choice of end-of-life care
Researchers tested the hypothesis that decisions about end-of-life care are influenced by the way the options are presented.
132 seriously ill patients were randomly assigned to complete one of three types of advance directives. ...