Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Using Behavioral Insights to Improve the Effectiveness of Government Assistance Programs

(Poverty and Income Policy)

Many government social programs are designed in such a way that individuals must make active decisions and go through a series of steps in order to benefit from them. They must decide which programs to apply to or participate in, complete forms, attend meetings, show proof of eligibility, and arrange travel and child care. Program designers often assume that individuals will carefully consider options, analyze details, and make decisions that maximize their well-being. But over the past thirty years, innovative research — much of it in the area of “behavioral science” — has shown that human decision making is often imperfect and imprecise. People — clients and program administrators alike — procrastinate, get overwhelmed by choices, miss details, lose their self-control, rely on mental shortcuts, and permit small changes in the environment to influence their decisions. As a result, programs and participants may not always achieve the goals they set for themselves. Behavioral science sheds light on organization, staff, and participant decision-making and behavior to better understand how and why people make the choices that they do. This panel presents research on how insights from behavioral science can be used to improve the effectiveness of government programs that serve the poor and other vulnerable populations in the United States. The research presented includes randomized controlled trials conducted or being conducted in child support, child care, TANF, EITC, SNAP, and other government programs that support economic opportunity. Specifically, the panel will review: - Findings from 15 random assignment tests completed as part of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project—the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to examine programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States. - Highlights from the trials and other work completed by the United States government’s Social and Behavioral Sciences team since its inception, particularly its work supporting economic opportunity for the American people. - Results from two randomized controlled trials on reminders affect tax filing among lower-income non-filers. - An ongoing randomized controlled trial of various interventions designed to encourage enrollment of eligible, elderly individuals in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Participants who attend the presentation by the proposed panel can expect to: 1. Gain an overview of how principles from behavioral science can be applied to improve government services for the disadvantaged. 2. Learn about ongoing efforts to evaluate the impact of behavioral science on government effectiveness.