Sometimes it’s good to make mistakes. As soul singer Joss Stone says, “I’ve got a right to be wrong. My mistakes will make me strong.” In behavioral diagnosis, as in life, being wrong is sometimes helpful – especially when it stimulates new insights on the problem. One of our favorite strategies to test hypotheses in […]
The last time you visited the doctor with an illness, what did your physician do? After taking vital signs, your doctor probably examined you, asked questions about your symptoms, possibly asked about your diet, lifestyle or recent events, and perhaps scheduled follow-up tests. This combination of data and contextual details allowed your doctor to make […]
While defining the problem is the first step towards a solution, crafting the right problem statement is inherently difficult. As we mentioned in our last post, a well-crafted problem statement should not be defined too broadly, too narrowly or with hidden presumptions. Here’s how we refined the problem statements at each of our three pilot […]
Behavioral economics is, ultimately, about how we think of people. The assumptions we make about people change how we approach problems related to their behavior. If we assume that their actions follow their intentions, we will design programs that attempt to change intentions. If we think that people take an action if they are informed […]
At each of our pilot sites, the BETA Project uses a four-stage problem-solving process: define, diagnose, design and test. In the coming months, we will highlight interesting findings from our work at each stage over this past year. We’ll start by discussing the define stage, where we attempt to correctly define a problem that can […]
In the United States, the information companies are required to disclose to consumers can take several forms. Some disclosures are statements displayed on a product (“Warning: Cigarettes Cause Strokes and Heart Disease”). Others are numbers, from product characteristics (calories) to government ratings (Crash Safety Ratings). And some are notifications about certain actions (like the charging of […]
Behavioral economics’ most successful large-scale impacts have so far been in the developed world, with notable successes including the headway made on getting Americans to save for retirement or the many successes of Britain’s Nudge Unit. But at ideas42, we believe that behavioral economics can also dramatically change the way development programs work (for the […]
Several years since a collapse in house prices triggered the deepest financial and economic crisis in post-war American history, almost one in eight mortgage borrowers in the US are now either delinquent or in foreclosure proceedings. However, despite the considerable resources invested in various loan modification programs, the benefits have not reached the majority of […]
Congress established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in July 2011 with the goal of promoting accountability, fairness, and transparency in the financial industry. The CFPB works to provide consumers with honest, accessible information about financial regulations and to help them understand their own relationships with financial institutions as mortgagers, credit card providers, and investment banks. […]
Millions of people carry huge credit card balances. Is it because they don’t understand the costs? Millions more don’t set aside money in a retirement account. Do they not understand the benefits? The conventional answer to both questions is yes. The conventional response is to offer them personal finance 101. Building financial literacy is a […]
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