Point at, nudge, or push private provision of a public good?

• Published in: Economic inquiry Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 996 - 1007
• Main Authors: Bruns, Hendrik, Perino, Grischa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, USA Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01-07-2021; Western Economic Association
• Subjects: climate protection; Decision makers; default; experiment; Intervention; Intrinsic motivation; motivation crowding; nudge; public good; Public policy
• ISSN: 1465-7295; 0095-2583; 1465-7295
• DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12981

How decision makers respond to behavioral and traditional interventions might depend on their and the regulator's attributes. This online experiment investigates the effect of defaults, recommendations, and mandatory minimum contributions accompanied by regulator information on the private provision of climate protection, accounting for intrinsic motivation. Findings show that all interventions increase the propensity of individuals to choose the focal value. There is no evidence that recommendations and defaults change average contributions. We report a negative interaction of the default with intrinsic motivation. Expert or political regulator information decreases intervention effectiveness. The study improves our understanding of behavioral public policy instruments.