We live in a world where people smoke cigarettes out of gangrenous-foot-covered packets, where obesity rates are soaring yet less than 4 per cent of Australians are eating enough vegetables.
So, when we’re all too familiar with graphic images and even more graphic figures to care about the message anymore, where does that put public health advocates trying to make a difference? Is there even room for change?
That’s where nudge economics comes in. The theory, coined by economist Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School Professor Cass R. Sunstein, suggests that big changes actually come from little reinforcements and indirect suggestions.
“To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates,” say Richard and Cass. “Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.”
Push power.
While the science behind nudge economics is still emerging, there are a few glimpses of its potential when it comes to our eating habits. One study found that putting healthy foods at the front of the cafeteria queue encouraged students to load up their plates with fruit and veggies. Simple, subtle – and it costs the school nothing to implement.
The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation is also trialling nudges to reduce soft drink consumption. These “behaviour hacks” include installing free water fountains at rugby games, moving soft drinks out of prominent positions in hospitals and promoting water as a menu option at the pub. We’re waiting eagerly for the results later this year.
A nudge in the wrong direction.
Advertisers know all about nudge economics, even if it wasn’t called that until recently. A classic case is the renaming of “rapeseed oil” to “canola oil” (a portmanteau of Canada and oil), removing unsavoury connotations. Today, canola is the third-most widely consumed “vegetable oil”, even though there’s no such thing as a canola plant.
Take a trip to the supermarket and you’ll be bombarded with nudges to buy this or that. Fresh-baked bread wafts through the entrance while bright, waxed fruits and veggies offer a cheerful welcome. Music encourages you to buy more – a study shows that people spent 34 per cent longer in stores that played music.
When it’s time leave, you’re so overwhelmed and laden with groceries that the candy and soft drinks at the till seem necessary. It’s no mistake – the till is a hotspot for impulse buys, and those sweets are usually placed at kids’ eye-levels to prompt tantrums.
The future of nudge economics?
Applications of this theory are ramping up. Governments are using the psychology to inform policy – the New South Wales Government even has a nudge-dedicated “Behavioural Insights” department.
One major example of the nudge at work is, in fact, the UK sugar tax. It’s easy and cheap, with the UK Government levying just 18p (35c) per litre on sugary drinks. But most importantly it’s driving attitude changes, which goes way beyond the price of pop.
“The UK Behavioral Insights team that worked on the UK sugar tax campaign says the signalling effect of the sugar tax is just as important as the direct economic effect to consumers,” says Sarah. “It sends the message sugared drinks are bad for your health and that there are alternatives.”
With Mexico already showing promising results of a sugar tax, it won’t be long until we see if this type of policy is exactly what’s needed to change obesity and chronic disease levels for the better. Now that’s a nudge in the right direction!
What examples of nudge economics – good and bad – have you seen in action?
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