29th Annual Student Research Conference
Can you pay people to change their behavior? - An interdisciplinary investigation of small monetary incentives in non-employment contexts
Lasse M. Fuss
Dr. Scott Alberts and Dr. David Gillette, Faculty Mentors
Can you pay people to complete a survey, to go to the gym, or to donate blood? Incentives have a profound impact on the decisions we make and are often used to encourage behavior change. However, incentives frequently fail and have unintended effects. This paper investigates why, how, and when small monetary incentives work from an economic, psychological, and behavioral economic perspective. The paper takes a closer look at incentives in health interventions as well as surveying and also suggests alternatives to incentives based on recent findings in behavioral economics.
Keywords: behavioral economics, incentives, behavior change, crowding-out motivation
Topic(s):Interdisciplinary Studies Major
Economics
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -1
Location: MG 2050
Time: 1:00