Can interventions from behavioral economics get people to pay their taxes? It is a question of the greatest urgency in Latin America and the Caribbean where evasion of personal and corporate income taxes reaches as high as 50% in many countries, with significant impact on their scope of options. The short answer is that behavioral interventions can be crucial. As has been … [Read more...] about Behavioral Interventions on One Tax Can Boost Compliance Across the Board
Behavioral Economics
How Using Your Temptations As Bait Can Improve Your Health
We eat too much, watch too much television, fail to exercise and suffer the consequences of our lack of willpower and self-discipline. None of this is good. Today, as revealed in a recent IDB study, one in four adults in Latin America and the Caribbean is obese, with the Caribbean leading the trend at an alarming rate. That, in turn, results in higher incidences of … [Read more...] about How Using Your Temptations As Bait Can Improve Your Health
Making Better Food Choices in 2019
Why do so many New Year’s resolutions revolve around food? It's probably because so many of us eat without restraint, gorging ourselves on extra-large portions; because we know we should be eating less junk and more fruits and vegetables, but still end up reaching for that cookie. It's because what we eat and what we know we should eat don't line up. But it's not only our … [Read more...] about Making Better Food Choices in 2019
A Walk on the Dark Side: Learning from Corporate Use of Behavioral Economics
I recently attended the IlleXBehavior Meeting in Chicago, a gathering of behavioral and tech consultancies and some of the largest companies in the United States. The meeting focuses on the latest insights from behavioral economics and neuroscience, and I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first. I half-expected the meeting to be a festival of manipulation, in which … [Read more...] about A Walk on the Dark Side: Learning from Corporate Use of Behavioral Economics
Nudging: A Path to Greater Childhood Vaccination
How can vaccinations be guaranteed in poor rural areas? Guatemala faced the problem recently when it confronted the declining rates of rural immunization after children's first year of life, a phenomenon that potentially threatened childhood health and survival. Declining rates of childhood vaccination These biases were taking their toll. Mothers made a big effort during … [Read more...] about Nudging: A Path to Greater Childhood Vaccination