Toward an Understanding of the Welfare Effects of Nudges: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda / Erwin Bulte, John A. List, Daan Van Soest.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bulte, E. H. (Erwin Hendricus), 1968-

Contributor:

List, John A., 1968-

Van Soest, Daan P. (Daan Pieter), 1969-

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w26286.

NBER working paper series no. w26286

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Toward an Understanding of the Welfare Effects of Nudges

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2019.

Summary:

Social scientists have recently explored how framing of gains and losses affects productivity. We conducted a field experiment in peri-urban Uganda, and compare output levels across 1000 workers over isomorphic tasks and incentives, framed as either losses or gains. We find that loss aversion can be leveraged to increase the productivity of labor. The estimated welfare costs of using the loss contract are quite modest - perhaps because the loss contract is viewed as a (soft) commitment device.

Notes:

September 2019.

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