Nudging is a burgeoning topic in science and in policy, but evidence on the effectiveness of nudges among differentially-incentivized groups is lacking. This paper exploits regional variations in the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine in Sweden to examine the effect of a nudge on groups whose intrinsic incentives are different: 16-17-year-olds, for whom Covid-19 is not dangerous, and 50-59-year-olds, who face a substantial risk of death or severe dis-ease. We find a significantly stronger response in the younger group, consistent with the theory that nudges are more effective for choices that are not meaningful to the individual.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2301.08797,
title = {When do Default Nudges Work?},
author = {Carl Bonander and Mats Ekman and Niklas Jakobsson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2301.08797},
year = {2023}
}