A social norm nudge to save more: A field experiment at a retail bank

Robert Dur, Dimitry Fleming, Marten van Garderen and Max van Lent

Journal of Public Economics, 2021, vol. 200, issue C

Abstract: A large fraction of households have very little savings buffer and are therefore vulnerable to financial shocks. This paper examines whether a social norm nudge can induce such households to save more. We ran a large-scale field experiment at a retail bank in the Netherlands. We find that households who are exposed to the social norm nudge click more often on a link to a personal web page where they can start or adjust an automatic savings plan. However, analyzing detailed bank data, we find no treatment effect on actual savings, neither in the short run nor in the long run. Our null findings are quite precisely estimated. A complementary small-scale survey experiment suggests that people did notice the social norm nudge and also that it had an impact on savings intentions.

Keywords: Household savings; Field experiment; Nudges; Social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D14 D90 E21 G40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Working Paper: A Social Norm Nudge to Save More: A Field Experiment at a Retail Bank (2021)
Working Paper: A Social Norm Nudge to Save More: A Field Experiment at a Retail Bank (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:200:y:2021:i:c:s0047272721000797

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104443

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