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

Bruns, Hendrik, and Grischa Perino. “Point At, Nudge, or Push Private Provision of a Public Good?” Economic Inquiry, 2021, doi:10.1111/ecin.12981.

12 Pages Posted: 30 May 2018 Last revised: 31 Mar 2021

See all articles by Hendrik Bruns

Hendrik Bruns

European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Grischa Perino

University of Hamburg

Date Written: March 27, 2021

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

Suggested Citation

Bruns, Hendrik and Perino, Grischa, Point at, Nudge, or Push Private Provisions to a Public Good? Field Experimental Evidence for Experts, Politicians, and Nobodies (March 27, 2021). Bruns, Hendrik, and Grischa Perino. “Point At, Nudge, or Push Private Provision of a Public Good?” Economic Inquiry, 2021, doi:10.1111/ecin.12981., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3178597 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3178597

Hendrik Bruns (Contact Author)

European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) ( email )

Brussels, B-1049
Belgium

Grischa Perino

University of Hamburg ( email )

Welckerstr. 8
Hamburg, 20354
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/gperinosite/

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