Government and behaviour: the use of behavioural insights in and by governments

Course goals

​After participating in this course the student:

• has knowledge and understanding of concepts and debates in behavioral public administration and related disciplines such as political psychology and behavioral economics.
• is able to recognize, criticize, and perform the translation of societal issues at the macro level to policy solutions that intervene at the micro level.
• is able to reflect critically on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and ethics of changing behavior in public settings.
• can apply theoretical and empirical insights from behavioral public administration in policy areas such as health, education, finance, or sustainability.

Content

In the course Government and behaviour we take a fundamentally different approach, as citizens are ‘predictably irrational’ (Ariely 2008). They do not always behave rational to, for instance, financial incentives. This model of human behavior has consequences for the ways in which governments can and should steer society. One prominent example is the use of ‘nudging’ in public policy. In their classic book about nudging, Thaler and Sunstein 2008 describe a nudge as … “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.” For instance, putting fruit, as opposed to donuts, at eye level to stimulate a healthy diet, counts as a nudge. Changing people’s default choice – making everyone by default an organ donor – also counts as a nudge.
A behavioural approach to government steering – which includes but also goes beyond ‘nudging’ - is explored in this course. During the course you learn what it means to take a behavioural approach to public administration. How does it differ from traditional policy and to what extent has a behavioural approach been taken up by governments already? Furthermore, you learn about opportunities and pitfalls of a behavioural approach. You will discuss whether a behavioral approach is effective (‘does it work?’), but also whether and when it is appropriate (‘do citizens accept it?’), and ethical (‘should government do it?’). Finally, we explicitly study the policy process that leads to ‘behavioural’ policies. You learn that other actors, such as interest groups, and contextual factors, such as institutions, rules, and norms influence this process.  
The course is structured along two phases combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications.. First, we dive into the field of behavioural public administration. We look at the process of translating social problems (such as obesity) into micro-level questions (how to we increase healthy eating), and the development of solutions (introducing a ‘fat tax’). The second phase challenges you to reflect on this process and engage in debates regarding effectiveness, appropriateness, and ethics through a podcast. In this phase you will also develop  a paper to study a key policy problem for a real public organisation

This course is part of the multidisciplinary minor Well-being by design: behavioural foundations and public policy. Here, you will learn to adopt a multidisciplinary perspective by combining knowledge from psychology, interdisciplinary social science, and public administration. In line with the minor, this course draws examples from four key policy areas: health, education, finance, and sustainability.

Note for exchange students
Resits may be scheduled after the end of the teaching period. Please consider this when planning your departure from the Netherlands.
If in doubt, please ask the course coordinator when the resit is scheduled.