Point at, Nudge, or Push Private Provisions to a Public Good? Field Experimental Evidence for Experts, Politicians, and Nobodies

Abstract

How decision makers respond to behavioral and traditional interventions might depend on their and the regulator's attributes. This online experiment investigates the effect of defaults, recommendations, and mandatory minimum contributions accompanied by regulator information on the private provision of climate protection, accounting for intrinsic motivation. Findings show that all interventions increase the propensity of individuals to choose the focal value. There is no evidence that recommendations and defaults change average contributions. We report a negative interaction of the default with intrinsic motivation. Expert or political regulator information decreases intervention effectiveness. The study improves our understanding of behavioral public policy instruments.

Keywords: climate protection, default, experiment, motivation crowding, nudge, public good

JEL Classification: D04, H41, Q54, Q58