Biases and Nudges in the Circular Economy: A Review

Luca Congiu (), Enrico Botta () and Mariangela Zoli
Additional contact information
Luca Congiu: DEF, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", http://www.ceistorvergata.it
Enrico Botta: OECD, Green Growth and Global Relations Division

No 583, CEIS Research Paper from Tor Vergata University, CEIS

Abstract: The circular economy transition requires consumers to make further efforts in their waste disposal behaviors, by increasing waste sorting, repairing and reusing products, and reducing the amount of waste produced. The literature has identified several barriers to consumers’ adoption of these practices. In this paper, we posit that such barriers can be ultimately linked to well-known decisional biases and proceed to offer a review. In doing so, we categorize biases into “cognitive”, referring to deviations from normatively correct behavior, and “motivational”, encompassing behavior driven by desirability concerns. We also survey the existing behavioral policies addressing the identified biases, focusing on “nudges”, that is, interventions leveraging biases to improve welfare. In our review, we call attention to the importance of recognizing the relevant bias behind specific behaviors to identify the best interventions to implement. By offering a conceptual link between biases and circular economy practices, we also lay the groundwork for future experimental investigation.

Keywords: cognitive bias; motivational bias; nudge; circular economy; second-hand; review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D04 D91 M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2024-10-03, Revised 2024-10-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-exp, nep-nud and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ceistorvergata.it/RePEc/rpaper/RP583.pdf Main text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:583

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
CEIS - Centre for Economic and International Studies - Faculty of Economics - University of Rome "Tor Vergata" - Via Columbia, 2 00133 Roma
https://ceistorvergata.it

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEIS Research Paper from Tor Vergata University, CEIS CEIS - Centre for Economic and International Studies - Faculty of Economics - University of Rome "Tor Vergata" - Via Columbia, 2 00133 Roma. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Barbara Piazzi ().