Behavioral Science

Much of my research concerns how behavioral science can improve the way governments work.

I’ve developed several widely-used frameworks for translating findings from behavioral science into practice, including MINDSPACE and EAST®. More recently, I’ve concentrated on summarizing the field of behavioral public policy and how it may evolve in the future.

I’ve also published studies showing how concepts from behavioral science can be applied to real-world problems, including tax compliance, antibiotic prescribing, and missed hospital appointments. Most of these studies consist of large-scale randomized controlled trials run in partnership with governments.

Highlights:

A manifesto for applying behavioural science. Nature Human Behaviour, 2023.

Misconceptions about the practice of behavioral public policy. SSRN, with summary version published in Behavioral & Brain Sciences.

Provision of social norm feedback to high prescribers of antibiotics in general practice: A pragmatic national randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 387(10029): 1743-1752.

The behavioralist as tax collector: Increasing tax compliance through natural field experiments. The Journal of Public Economics, 148: 14-31.

Stating appointment costs in SMS reminders reduces missed hospital appointments: Findings from two randomised controlled trials. PLOS One.

Influencing behaviour: The MINDSPACE way. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(1): 264-277.

Behavioural science and policy: Where are we now and where are we going? Behavioural Public Policy, 2(2): 144-167.

Policy Making

I also study how governments work - in particular, how policies are made.

My focus is on policy making ‘in the real world’ - the actual behaviors of the actors involved, and how they are influenced by pressures and institutions. Recent work on ‘Behavioral Government’ combined this focus with the strand on behavioral science to explore the biases that can affect policy making - and how they could be mitigated.

I’ve also looked at how ideas from complexity theory might offer new ways of thinking about government - such as moving from attempts at direct control to more of a ‘system stewardship’ approach. Finally, I’ve conducted a series of policy evaluations for national and international institutions, which can be accessed here.

Highlights:

Policy making in the real world. London: The Institute for Government.

Behavioural Government: Using behavioural science to improve the way governments make decisions. London: Behavioural Insights Team.

System Stewardship: The future of policy making? London: The Institute for Government.

The use of field experiments to increase tax compliance. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 30(4): 658-679.

Foreword to What Works, What Doesn’t (and When), ed. Dilip Soman, University of Toronto Press, 2024.