The Mexican Institute for Behavioural Economics has published the first volume of their Behavioural Economics Guide – one of the first of its kind to be written in Spanish. The first volume explores the application of behavioural economics to public policy, with a particular focus on Latin America. The guide has been carefully designed for multiple audiences, from those new to the concept of behavioural economics to public policy experts and economists. It combines introductory material about behavioural economics with a detailed discussion of theories and analyses of interventions.
The Behavioural Insights Team has contributed to this guide by writing a chapter in which we discuss our work on the application of behavioural economics to tax payments in Guatemala. It focuses on a specific intervention that evaluated the effect of sending different behaviourally informed messages to taxpayers, to increase tax compliance. The guide also includes contributions from leading academics and the World Bank.