There are Free Lunches Statement of Intentions

There are Free Lunches: Behavioral Clues to Live Happy in the Economic World is a blog that intends to present updated and relevant information about the "hidden" and only recently uncovered dimensions of the economic science: the behavioral factors. With this blog we intend to promote in Europe and in the rest of the World, the top research articles and perspectives on behavioral economics, decision making, consumer behavior, and general behavioral science. We aim to be followed by journalists, academics, managers, civil servants, and everyone who wishes to improve their daily interaction with the economic world and consequently, their lives' happiness.



Monday 17 December 2012

O2 #1 Reducing disposable shopping bag usage (via Nudge Unit)


In her new paper, Tatiana Homonoff from Princeton University shows that small incentives can have a larger effect than the simple cost/benefit calculation would suggest, but how these incentives are framed matters.
Her findings accord with the idea of loss aversion – that people value losses more than the equivalent gain: a five-cent tax on disposable shopping bags in Washington DC was found to reduce their use by a substantial amount, while a  five-cent bonus for using a reusable bag had essentially no effect on behaviour.
Know more about this paper here: ReducingBagUsage  

No comments:

Post a Comment