Work

Carrots, sticks, sermons or nudges? Survey evidence of the Swedish general public's attitude towards different public policy tools

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: This article reports on a survey study comparing the general public's attitude towards nudging to its attitude towards the traditional tools of government: information, subsidies, taxes and mandates. The study was based on responses from a representative sample of the adult Swedish population. In separate evaluations, the respondents rated how positively or negatively they perceived a set of specific policy tools, traditional and behavioral, across different policy goals. Overall, information and subsidies were more positively perceived than the other types of policy tools, nudging included. Respondents’ attitudes towards the policy tools were partly explained by individualistic ideological views, whether they agreed with the intended policy goals, and certain socio-demographic variables. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed.

Source: Behavioural Public Policy

DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2022.31

Authors: Patric Andersson, Gustav Almqvist

Institution: Stockholm School of Economics

Language: English

Topic: Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics

Subfield: General Decision Sciences

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,255

Funders: Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius Stiftelse samt Tore Browaldhs Stiftelse, Linköpings Universitet, Uppsala Universitet, Stockholms Universitet