Blog

Thoughts and insights from our work applying behavioral science to social problems.

Three Myths About the Underbanked, Part One: What Is a “Rainy Day” When It’s Always Drizzling?

by Katy Davis & Nicki Cohen

  Why we’re wrong about lower income consumers, a three-part series Products and services that help low- and moderate-income (LMI) consumers manage their day-to-day finances and improve their long-term financial health are a clear need that hasn’t yet been solved by mainstream or alternative financial providers. Why haven’t the needs of LMI consumers been met […]

Nudgespotting: Environmentalism in New Zealand

by Jamie Kimmel for Misbehaving

This post originally appeared on the Misbehaving Blog, powered by ideas42 and the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago. Welcome to another special edition of Nudgespotting! My last internationally-focused post examined how Thailand nudges foreign visitors to follow local norms. Heading further East, today’s post explores the ways that New Zealanders nudge […]

ideas42 Affiliate Series: A Talk with Paul Zak

ideas42’s network of academic affiliates represent some of the world’s foremost experts in behavioral science. With the ideas42 Affiliate Series, we invite them to share their insights and what inspires their exploration into human behavior. Our New York office recently had the pleasure of hosting Paul Zak– our newest Affiliate and founding Director of the Center […]

ideas42 Affiliate Series: A Talk with Alison Buttenheim

ideas42’s network of academic affiliates represent some of the world’s foremost experts in behavioral science. With the ideas42 Affiliate Series, we invite them to share their insights and what inspires their exploration into human behavior. Our New York office recently had the pleasure of hosting Alison Buttenheim – our newest Affiliate and Assistant Professor at the University […]

Why Don’t People Take Free Cash?

by Prof. Syon Bhanot & Antonia Violante for Misbehaving

This post originally appeared on the Misbehaving Blog, powered by ideas42 and the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago.   Two economists are walking down the street. One sees a $20 bill lying on the sidewalk and says, “Look at that $20 bill!” The second economist responds, “Nah, that’s not a $20 […]

A Fresh Start

by David Munguía Gómez & Jaclyn Lefkowitz

It’s now 2 weeks into the new year, and chances are most of us have spent the first several days of 2016 diligently working to keep our New Year’s resolutions. Once again, we’ve dragged ourselves to the over-crowded gym after work, we’ve braved the long lines at grocery stores to fill our carts with healthy […]

College Success Starts Here

Without a doubt, college is hard. In the United States, it presents a myriad of challenges beyond acing your chosen course of study. These obstacles, which are often small and unintended – such as decisions about financing tuition, which courses to take in the first place, or tradeoffs on how to spend time or money […]

A Pathway to Better Retirement in Mexico

It’s simply a fact that many products, policies, and services created specifically to benefit everyday people are either under-used or not used at all. Whether it’s helpful savings tools, financial aid for education, or comprehensive health insurance plans, many of us simply never enroll or use them despite intending to do so. So what’s going […]

ideas42 Affiliate Series: A Talk with Mike Norton

ideas42’s network of academic affiliates represent some of the world’s foremost experts in behavioral science. With the ideas42 Affiliate Series, we invite them to share their insights and what inspires their exploration into human behavior. We recently invited Mike Norton of Harvard Business School to visit our New York office. He gave our team a fascinating talk […]

Madagascar: Expanding the Bandwidth of the Extreme Poor

by ideas42 & The World Bank

This post originally appeared on World Bank Voices blog and was co-authored by ideas42 and members of the World Bank. It is 8 AM. The winter sun begins to appear over the gray-green mass of trees above the village of Tritriva in Madagascar’s central highlands. The courtyard of a stone church is already filled with […]