Increasing Learning Outcomes Through Values Affirmation Exercise
Context:
Lebanon’s beleaguered school system is struggling to provide education to all children given the massive influx of refugees since the start of the Syrian crisis. To address this challenge, Amel Association International (Amel), in collaboration with UNICEF, ANERA and Ministry of Education and Higher Education, initiated a Youth Literacy and Numeracy program. In 2018, Nudge Lebanon, in collaboration with Amel, implemented a behavioral intervention using a values affirmation exercise to increase the academic performance of students.
Behavioral Challenge:
Performance of minorities are hindered by the effects of stereotype threat which can increase psychological stress and diminish one’s positive self-image.
Intervention Summary:
Subjects were asked to rate 10 values from the most to least important to them (e.g. sense of humor, courage, creativity etc.), and then draw an illustration of the value most important to them.
Impact:
The intervention led to a statistically significant increase in the performance of disadvantaged students enrolled in a Youth Literacy and Numeracy program by 11% on the Arabic test.
Increasing Traffic to Anti-Corruption Hotline Through Salient Posters
Context:
To combat endemic corruption plaguing Lebanon, the Lebanese Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (LALAC) was established to provide free legal advice and information to witnesses and victims of corruption. In 2018, Nudge Lebanon, in collaboration with Lebanese Transparency Association, conducted an experiment with a Land Registry of Baabda to increase the use of the LALAC anti-corruption hotline.
Behavioral Challenge:
Individuals fail to report cases of corruption due to lack of awareness about anti-corruption hotlines, they perceive that corruption is on the rise which lowers expectations for change, and the perceived inefficiency of official complaint channels.
Intervention Summary:
Salient posters and roll-ups were distributed in key locations in the Baabda central area about the LALAC hotline.
Impact:
The intervention led to a 6-fold increase in traffic to the call centre, a result directly associated to the campaign.
Increasing Timely Payment of Electricity Bills Through Behaviorally Informed Reminders
Context:
Many electricity subscribers in Lebanon fail to pay their utility bill during the bill collector’s first few collection visits, adding considerable administrative and human costs to the collection process. In 2018, Nudge Lebanon, in collaboration with Electricité du Liban and a provider in Saida City, designed an experiment aimed at increasing the probability of people paying their electricity bills by the bill collectors second visit.
Behavioral Challenge:
People procrastinate during the payment of their bills, they also assume that others are not paying their bills in a timely manner which leads them to believe that their behavior is in line with the majority, and they believe that paying on time won’t make much of a difference.
Intervention Summary:
Subjects received one of the following reminder slips during the bill collectors first visit to households: a) The hassle factor and loss aversion slip which lays out steps the subscriber has to follow in case of non compliance by the second visit and highlights the extra financial fees that will be charged, b) a social norm slip which reveals the high percentage of subscribers in the local community paying their bills on time, and c) A slip that primes individuals with the Lebanese flag superimposed in the background and statement which reads “Your country needs you, be a good citizen and pay your due electricity bill on time” to instill a sense of national pride.
Impact:
The intervention led to a statistically significant increase in the speed of household payment of electricity bills by 13% and 15%, using social norms and national pride nudges respectively. While with all three conditions outperformed the control group, the ‘Hassle Factor’ slip led to a statistically insignificant increase of 4%.
Increasing Educational Engagement and Financial Literacy Learning Through Behaviorally Framed Messages
Context:
Lebanese and displaced Syrians have difficulty in achieving financial stability due to a lack of formal employment opportunities and poor financial management skills. In 2019, Nudge Lebanon, in collaboration with Positive Planet International and the Makhzoumi Foundation, designed an intervention to re-engage a group of entrepreneurs previously enrolled in a business training program and improve their learning outcomes.
Behavioral Challenge:
Vulnerable individuals facing scarcity have limited cognitive bandwidth to engage in learning material and financial planning
Intervention Summary:
The intervention entailed sending SMS messages utilizing ‘family identity’ and ‘loss aversion’ framing with corresponding links to short videos reinforcing previous learning outcomes (i.e. saving, budgeting, financial planning, and spending). In addition, pre and post recall tests were administered to assess learning outcomes before and after the intervention.
Impact:
The intervention results descriptively show that those who watched at least one of the four videos reported higher test scores than those who did not watch any of the videos.
