Behavioural public policy

Behavioural Public Policy is an interdisciplinary field of public policy that integrates insights from behavioural science into the design and implementation of public policies. Instead of relying solely on traditional economic models that assume rational decision-making when designing policy interventions and communication campaigns, behavioural public policy recognises that individuals often deviate from purely rational behaviour due to cognitive biases, heuristics, and social influences. It complements contemporary fields of research through its core focus on applied behavioural insights for policy making. Consequently, behavioural public policy aims to (1) understand and address real world behaviours by considering psychological and social factors that influence decision-making, (2) and consequently design better public policies that can improve individual and public welfare. 

This collection invites original research in behavioural public policy, spanning across a range of topics featuring conceptual, theoretical or methodological contributions with applications in different areas of judgement and decision-making such as climate change, education, energy and environment, health, financial decision-making, consumer behaviour, gender studies, technology and artificial intelligence, law and regulation, poverty, inequality and social policy, misinformation and disinformation, sludging, and philosophy, ethics and freedom. The collection specifically aims to address key issues and debates in the epistemology, semantics and empirics of behavioural public policy using a range of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches.

We invite research on a range of themes, including but not limited to, behavioural public policy perspectives on:

• The ethics of behaviour change.
• The role of agency and freedom in behavioural nudging.
• Mechanisms underlying behaviour change interventions (BCTs).
• Long-term evaluations of effectiveness of BCTs.
• Behavioural spillover effects.
• Contextuality and heterogeneity in the effectiveness of BCTs.
• Generalisability of behavioural findings and insights.
• The role of sample diversity in external validity.
• Systematics tests of behavioural toolkits (such as nudge, boosts, nudge+).
• The use of big data, technology and AI in improving behavioural models of forecasting and predictions.
• Personalising BCTs and tailoring nudge-style interventions.
• Mega-studies and integrated experiments, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• Maladaptive consumer behavior and consumer protection in digital environments

We particularly encourage submissions from researchers in the global south applying behavioural public policy insights for understudied problems.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13.