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AbstractThe Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has led in the promotion and adoption of behavioural science research in public policy. This comment addresses a number of issues that must be faced by BIT and the wider behavioural public policy agenda as the field becomes institutionalised and normalised within public policy internationally, in particular issues of ethics and professional codes.

This dissertation is based on two studies conducted in 2002 and 2004 analysing preferences for non-marketed activity in Ireland. The first study applies the contingent valuation method (CVM) to Irish public service broadcasting. The second study examines public support for income maintenance schemes in Ireland and support for general policies of income redistribution. The studies have a number of things in common. Both public broadcasting and income maintenance are nationwide nonmarketed goods for which there is no adequate marketed measure of preferences. Both are familiar and politicised markets requiring subtlety in survey design and administration to attain meaningful answers. Both studies offer interesting case studies in the survey approach to political economy as well as offering more general insights in to the techniques of preference elicitation. ; TARA (Trinity's Access to Research Archive) has a robust takedown policy. Please contact us if you have any concerns: rssadmin@tcd.ie

AbstractThe existence of self-control failures is often used to legitimize public policy interventions. The argument is that reducing self-control failures can make people better off, as judged by themselves. However, there is only scarce evidence on the frequency and welfare costs of self-control failures. This paper presents a survey method that allows us to measure self-control failures in everyday life and to identify their welfare costs in terms of associations with experienced subjective well-being. We present novel survey evidence using this method and discuss its implications for behavioural welfare economics and behavioural public policy.

AbstractInsights from the behavioural sciences are increasingly used by governments and other organizations worldwide to 'nudge' people to make better decisions. Furthermore, a large philosophical literature has emerged on the ethical considerations on nudging human behaviour that has presented key challenges for the area, but is regularly omitted from discussion of policy design and administration. We present and discuss FORGOOD, an ethics framework that synthesizes the debate on the ethics of nudging in a memorable mnemonic. It suggests that nudgers should consider seven core ethical dimensions:Fairness,Openness,Respect,Goals,Opinions,OptionsandDelegation. The framework is designed to capture the key considerations in the philosophical debate about nudging human behaviour, while also being accessible for use in a range of public policy settings, as well as training.

This article first documents evidence on the changing prevalence of childhood physical and mental health problems, focusing on the development of childhood health conditions in the United States. Authors Liam Delaney and James Smith present evidence on the changing prevalence of childhood chronic conditions over time using recalled data as well as contemporaneous accounts of these childhood health problems. The raw data from both sources show sharp increases in the prevalence of most childhood physical health problems (such as asthma, allergies, respiratory problems, and migraines) over time. However, inferring trends is difficult because such data are also consistent with improved detection of childhood disease, and many of the causes of childhood disease have not worsened over time. Conclusions about rapidly rising rates of childhood physical health problems over time are premature at best, especially concerning the magnitude of trends. Documenting real changes in the prevalence of specific diseases is a high-priority research topic. In contrast, the evidence is much stronger that childhood mental health problems are becoming worse. The authors next present new evidence on the effects of early childhood physical and mental problems on health and economic status in adulthood. They find that both childhood physical and mental health problems contribute significantly to poorer adult health. However, they also find that childhood mental health problems have much larger impacts than do childhood physical health problems on four critical areas of socioeconomic status as an adult: education, weeks worked per year, individual earnings, and family income. Finally, the authors examine evidence regarding the efficacy of early mental health treatment for children in terms of promoting good health later on. Existing studies suggest that a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication appears to be effective in the treatment of both anxiety and depression in children. However, much more research is needed on the efficacy of these childhood interventions into adulthood. Clinical trials have been too short to evaluate the long-term impacts of various forms of treatment, and these impacts are definitively long term.

AbstractAdministrative burdens create costly experiences for citizens, especially disadvantaged groups. Research to date focuses on how burdens affect outcomes in specific policy contexts, thus little is known about cumulative experiences of burdens in everyday life and their distribution in society. This is the first study to document everyday administrative experiences, accounting for time and well‐being costs across 10 domains: tax, retirement, government benefits, bills, goods and services, savings, debt, health, child care, and adult care. Survey results from 2243 UK adults show that administrative tasks are a significant part of everyday life, with time and well‐being costs that vary by domain. Benefits‐related tasks are particularly costly. There is evidence of distributive effects. Those in poor health and financial insecurity are more likely to engage in salient tasks, such as benefits, but less likely to engage with longer‐term tasks including savings and retirement. They experience higher well‐being costs, especially during salient tasks.

Administrative burdens may deepen inequality by creating costly experiences for vulnerable groups. Research to date typically focuses on how burdens affect decisions in specific policy contexts, thus little is known about everyday experiences of burdens and their distribution in society. This is the first study to document everyday administrative experiences, accounting for time and emotional costs across ten domains: tax, retirement, government benefits, bills, goods and services, savings, debt, health, childcare, and adult care. Results from 2,243 UK adults show that administrative tasks are a significant part of life (one hour per day). Time and emotional costs vary by domain; government benefits emerge as particularly costly. There is evidence that administrative burdens are regressive, not only through their effects on decisions, but through their unequal distribution in society. Those in poor health and financial insecurity focus on tasks salient to them (e.g. benefits, health, debt), but are less likely to engage in beneficial longer-term tasks (e.g. savings, retirement), and suffer higher emotional costs from engaging in tasks relevant to their disadvantage, compared to non-disadvantaged groups. A choice experiment shows that (hypothetical) burdens discourage beneficial action in general, but even more so for some disadvantaged groups.

Administrative burdens may deepen inequality by creating costly experiences for vulnerable groups. Research to date typically focuses on how burdens affect decisions in specific policy contexts, thus little is known about everyday experiences of burdens and their distribution in society. This is the first study to document everyday administrative experiences, accounting for time and emotional costs across ten domains: tax, retirement, government benefits, bills, goods and services, savings, debt, health, childcare, and adult care. Results from 2,243 UK adults show that administrative tasks are a significant part of life (one hour per day). Time and emotional costs vary by domain; government benefits emerge as particularly costly. There is evidence that administrative burdens are regressive, not only through their effects on decisions, but through their unequal distribution in society. Those in poor health and financial insecurity focus on tasks salient to them (e.g. benefits, health, debt), but are less likely to engage in beneficial longer-term tasks (e.g. savings, retirement), and suffer higher emotional costs from engaging in tasks relevant to their disadvantage, compared to non-disadvantaged groups. A choice experiment shows that (hypothetical) burdens discourage beneficial action in general, but even more so for some disadvantaged groups.