Norms and Nudges

The course has two main objectives. The first is improving the ability of students to understand and influence collective behaviors. Often what is treated as a purely individual decision is influenced by social expectations, i.e., expectations about what others do or approve of. Many behaviors are 'collective' in this sense and to change them requires changing social expectations. Think of paying taxes, recycling, or curbing electricity usage. Economics traditionally provides tools for influencing behavior (namely, incentives and information), but they may fail if they do not take into account the importance of social influence.  

The second objective is to improve the quality of students' own decisions, primarily by enhancing students' diagnostic abilities in a variety of contexts, public (local governments) and private (companies), but also by giving them tools to measure and change behaviors. We will analyze some errors that are common in "norm nudging," and look for solutions that are easy to implement.