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- 22nd Sep 2016
Increasing tax payments in Costa Rica
Over the past few years, BIT has implemented a number of successful trials using letters to remind people to pay their taxes. In March 2015, we ran our first trial in Costa Rica. In this case we tested sending emails - an even lower cost intervention than letters. Working with…
Also available in: Español
- Blog
- 22nd Sep 2016
Incremento del pago de impuestos en Costa Rica
En los últimos años, BIT ha implementado una serie de pruebas exitosas utilizando cartas para recordar a las personas que paguen sus impuestos. En marzo de 2015, realizamos nuestra primera prueba en Costa Rica. En este caso, probamos el envío de correos electrónicos, una intervención de menor costo que las…
Also available in: English
- Blog
- 26th Sep 2016
We're recruiting in London!
Associate Advisor (Qualitative research) Part time or full time One year fixed term contract Salary range: £25,000 - £35,000 pro rata per annum, plus benefits Based in Westminster The Behavioural Insights Team is looking for an exceptional candidate to join our Research and Evaluation team in London. The Research and…
- Blog
- 6th Oct 2016
Setting smarter defaults for workplace pensions
By changing the default from opt-in to opt-out, automatic enrolment is successfully reversing the long-term decline in the number of people saving into workplace pensions in the UK. Opt-out rates have been between 8 and 14 per cent, rather than the 28 per cent the Department for Work and Pensions…
- Blog
- 13th Oct 2016
Reflections on the rise of evidence-based policymaking
You know how it is: you spend months waiting for the next global summit on evidence, and then when the invitations arrive they’re all scheduled at the same time. Recent weeks saw two held in London, and a few people missed them because of a rival summit in the USA!…
- Blog
- 18th Oct 2016
Applying behavioural insights to legacy giving
Legacy giving is an important part of the landscape of charitable giving in the UK, accounting for almost a quarter of all donations, with many charities dependent on these donations to survive. However, while a third (35 per cent) of people say that they would be happy to leave a…
- Blog
- 20th Oct 2016
Poverty and decision-making: How behavioural science can improve opportunity in the UK
A third of the UK population spent at least one year in relative income poverty between 2011 and 2014. Traditionally policymakers and anti-poverty organisations such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) have focused on boosting people’s economic capital (e.g., income) and human capital (e.g., educational attainment) to reduce poverty. While…
- Blog
- 24th Oct 2016
Behavioral Insights and the City
From ancient Athens to modern New York, cities have long provided crucibles for human interaction, thriving and faltering in equal measure on the density and diversity of the lives within them. With 2 out of every 3 of us set to live in cities by 2050, it is hardly surprising…
- Blog
- 31st Oct 2016
Building Character Skills – What Works?
A wide variety of skills are needed for success in life. The traditional focus of policymakers on academic achievement as a marker of people’s talents can cause them to miss the importance of non-cognitive skills, also called character skills. There is now growing evidence that these skills – which include things…
- Blog
- 8th Nov 2016
Policymaking: should we be 'messier'?
Last week, we were lucky enough to be joined by the FT’s Undercover Economist, Tim Harford, who came to talk to us about his excellent new book Messy. The central premise of the book is that we often succumb to the temptation of a tidy-minded approach to getting something done,…