Raymond Morel 4040 days ago
In an EU policy context, behavioural economics refers to the application of empirically-based insights into human behaviour for policy analysis. This approach has received significant attention in recent years and has been applied in the US, the UK, France, Germany and the European Commission, among others.
In a nutshell, behavioural economics allows policy-makers to better understand and influence people's behaviour. This allows them to:
European Commission services are increasingly relying on behavioural economics analysis. In 2010, DG SANCO set up the Framework Contract for the Provision of Behavioural Studies, open to all Commission services. Its purpose is to facilitate the running of behavioural studies in support of EU policy-making. However, since the design of studies like these requires a certain degree of expertise and knowledge, SANCO has asked the Joint Research Centre to provide scientific support.
This collaboration, entitled Behavioural Studies for European Policies (BESTEP), started in 2012. Its main purpose is to assist Commission services in the conception, design and execution of behavioural studies. It also foresees a policy report on behavioural studies for European policy-making (to be published in early 2013), setting up an online European network of behavioural experts and conducting a crowdsourcing exercise for harvesting innovative behavioural solutions to policy problems.
Unhealthy lifestyles have long been a target for policy intervention based on behavioural insights. There is a clear public health argument for policy intervention – it can save lives, improve well-being, reduce the burden on the public health system and improve overall productivity. But hard legislation in this regard is often politically unacceptable since it can be considered paternalistic and lead to complaints about the 'nanny state'.
Behavioural insights can lead to innovative ways of softly nudging people into healthier lifestyles by making changes to the context in which people make decisions about their well-being (the choice architecture). ICT, particularly the Internet and mobile devices, offer a novel range of possibilities for applying such nudges.
Against this backdrop, the IS Unit is launching a survey on physical activity among young people in selected European countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia). The objective is to gain a better understanding of the factors that motivate young people to undertake physical activity, test whether they can be persuaded (nudged) into becoming more active and explore the potential role of ICT in promoting and maintaining an active lifestyle.
The survey will apply two models of behaviour to the physical activity of young people (16-25's), paying particular attention to the role of social influence through injunctive and descriptive norms. It will include a quasi-experimental element and will prime respondents with messages about the prevalence of physical activity among the population. Finally, it will pose questions about health-related ICT activity, paying particular attention to the use of social media and how to best channel eHealth interventions which aim to promote physical activity.