The Nudge cafeteria part II

Cornell has launched a new web site, smarterlunchrooms.org, for school lunch administrators and managers that may put us one step closer to a world of nudge cafeterias. David Just, a professor at Cornell’s Department of Applied Economics and Management explains the idea to US News:

Rather than advocating outright bans of certain foods, its goal is to “design sustainable lunchrooms that guide smarter choices.” The key word there is “guide.” Simply replacing pizza with whole-wheat flatbreads and fries with roasted sweet potatoes doesn’t allow kids to learn how to make real-world choices, says David Just…”We set it up so that everything is available and the kids are enabled to see how to make decisions,” he says. Making those decisions, he says, leads to good habits.

Among the ideas are 1) Separate cash only lanes for desserts and soft drinks; 2) Renaming vegetables (think “X-ray Vision Carrots”) or simply describing healthy foods in richer detail (think “rich vegetable medley soup” instead of “vegetable soup.” Anyone who does not appreciate the power of naming probably doesn’t eat out much. However, not all names appear to be effective. For example, calling an item “Food of the Day” doesn’t spark much of an appetite; 3) Shrinking the size of plates in the a la carte line in order to make food portions look larger, and therefore a better value.

For a related article with a headline we love, check out “When Nudging in the Lunch Line Might be a Good Thing,” in this month’s Amber Waves from the USDA. Among the more interesting observations is the long length of time (relatively speaking) that students spend in line at lunch cafeteria: 5 minutes out of a 30-minute lunch period. A long time in check-out line can expose one to more temptations , very few of which are probably going to be healthy.

Where temporary government debit cards have worked before

Via Dan Newman, who proposed to put your tax rebate on a debit card that had to be spent. A currency version existed even before debit cards.

Called “stamp scrip,” they were so effective in southern Germany in 1931 that leading American economist Irving Fisher advocated their use worldwide. Since the slump of 2003, Bavaria has again printed notes that must be spent quickly to avoid a fee for renewing their expiration stamp.

As for the idea of a government gift card, Taiwan began a similar plan in January. The Taiwanese have until September to spend a government-issued voucher for $108. In terms of gross domestic product per person, that would be roughly $4,000 per person in America. The program began without significant logistical hurdles, and China’s Ministry of Commerce is expected to propose similar voucher programs in several areas.

More on exactly how SmartSwitch works from the Stanford duo

Readers have been very interested in Peter Russo and Brendan Wypich’s SmartSwitch. There have been a number of requests for the guys to explain more about the tactile feedback piece of the technology. Straight from the source, here’s the technical explanation of how it works:

A low-power microprocessor embedded in the SmartSwitch receives and interprets data from the network. (The “network” may consist of sensors, other switches, a home energy-monitoring system, the central office of the power company, etc.) Based on that data, the microprocessor controls the position of a linear servomotor, which presses a brake pad down onto the sliding mechanism of the switch. The harder the brake presses, the more difficult it becomes to physically slide the switch.

Refinements to the mechanism will be made in the next version of the SmartSwitch. For example, while the linear servomotor — an off-the-shelf device typically used by remote-control model hobbyists — is great for prototyping, it’s likely too big, noisy, and expensive to be used in an actual product. We’re also exploring ways to alter the gesture — rather than the force — required to flip the switch.

The two also say that, depending on how SmartSwitch is configured, there are lots of potential applications.

-If configured to respond to a household-specific energy consumption goal (say, to use less than 200 kWh of electricity per month), the switch can become harder to turn on if it looks like the goal isn’t going to be met.

-If configured to respond to a neighborhood’s energy consumption, the switch can become harder to turn on if your household usage is above the neighborhood average.

-If connected to a light sensor, the switch can become harder to turn on if the ambient light level is already high.

-If configured to respond to grid-wide electricity demand, the switch can become harder to turn on during times of peak usage.

We plan to explore these (and other) applications when we roll the SmartSwitch out to users through a pilot study. We also imagine that point-of-use tactile feedback could be used in other controls — such as thermostats — that potentially offer even more substantial energy savings.

We’ll keep you updated on SmartSwitch’s progress.

Lotto dreams for Armenian tax compliers

We’ve written about the potential for using social norms to decrease tax evasion. Armenia is turning to lotteries (whose attraction is explained by Prospect Theory). Given the relative weakness of the state in Armenia, compared to say, the U.S., an innovative use of lotteries might be a good option.

Armenia is offering thousands of dollars in lottery prizes to consumers who take receipts for their purchases to try to tackle rampant tax evasion in the former Soviet republic.

The initiative began on Jan. 1 and the first prizes will be awarded this month, after authorities said the threat of prosecution had failed to encourage shopowners and market sellers to install cash registers and provide receipts.

“It’s no secret that not many people give receipts in Armenia,” said Armen Alaverdyan, deputy head of the State Revenue Committee.

Hat tip: Brian Stoner

Loss aversion on the road

Erel Avineri of the Centre for Transport & Society looks at traffic from the perspective of a Human, not an Econ. Standard economic models of people seem to do a poor job anticipating what people do on the road. Using models from behavioral economics and psychology, Avineri is interested what influences our boundedly rational travel behavior. What kind of feedback might change it? What effect do our interactions with others on the road have? According to his web site, he is “exploring how to change travellers’ behaviour in a way that does not limit their freedom of choice (for example by ‘nudging’).” In some interesting research, he applied the lessons of loss aversion to everyday decision making by travelers. We asked Avineri to share his insights with Nudge blog readers.

Continue reading the post here.