The last ten years have seen an explosion in the use of behavioral science in fields like economics and public policy--often referred to as "Behavioral Insights." Public servants, researchers, and others that make use of these approaches have embraced the idea that human beings are not completely "rational," and that this lack of rationality leads them to make systematic errors in their everyday decision-making, and consequently leaves huge potential for government policy to be more effective if it incorporates a more realistic model of human behavior.
It's a small idea, but one which has had an outsized impact. A behavioral approach has been credited with issues related to the economy, education, medicine, among other fields: raising tax revenues, helping people get back into work, supporting them to do better in school, making them more likely to vote, and reducing unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics. "Nudge" type interventions are also found to be highly cost-effective, increasing their appeal to governments.
After ten years of the movement's spread, there are now more than 200 institutions and "nudge units" around the world. However, the question of how one builds a successful behavioral science team is one that remains to the most part unanswered.
This book includes chapters written by some of the world's leading behavioral scientists and academics on their tips for success, and more importantly, the lessons learned on incorporating behavioral science across far-ranging economic and policy issues.
About the Author: Michael Sanders is the Chief Executive of What Works for Children's Social Care, and a Reader in Public Policy at King's College London (UK). Michael served as Chief Scientist at the Behavioral Insights Team. His research focuses on pro-sociality and social capital, and in particular how a combination of social preference and social influence can be used to improve access to education and social mobility for young people. He is the author, with Susannah Hume, of Social Butterflies: Reclaiming the Positive Power of our Social Networks.
Syon Bhanot an Associate Professor of Economics at Swarthmore College (USA), studying behavioral and public economics. He holds a B.A. from Princeton University and an M.P.P. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research focuses on using experimental methods to test behavioral science insights in public policy contexts. He regularly publishes his work in peer-reviewed journals across the social sciences, and is a frequent commentator in the media, with regular appearances in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and on NPR.
Shibeal O'Flaherty is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy at King's College London (UK). Her research focuses on developing and testing behaviorally-informed interventions aimed at improving employee well-being. Prior to this, she worked as a Program Manager at the Harvard Behavioral Insights Group from 2016 to 2018.
