‘Nudge’ Project

Generally, a white paper is a document produced by a knowledgeable authority to inform and persuade a
neutral or uninformed audience. In the context of this class, it is a persuasive essay championing a novel
behavioral policy intervention meant to address an inefficient economic outcome. White papers are typically
the domain of government or public-policy organizations, but have more recently become marketing tools
for firms. Businesses use white papers to push products, strategies or solutions that meet their customers’
needs.
This assignment requires students, working alone or in groups of no more than five (5) students, to produce a
white paper that identifies an inefficient economic outcome, proposes a nudge that is likely to have a positive
impact on the economic outcome, and advocates for the implementation of that nudge. The purpose of this
assignment is to apply course topics in a ’real-world’ setting while also developing students’ technical and
analytic writing skills.
Successful papers have traditionally focused on a policy prescription or change in public choice architecture
that would prospectively avoid or mitigate an adverse economic outcome. Other options include innovations
that would increase the profitability of a firm or the efficiency of a governmental agency. Regardless of the
setting of the problem, the structure should be the same: the sub-optimal economic outcome is identified, the
nudge that would address it is articulated, evidence supporting the effectiveness of the nudge is introduced,
counter-veiling arguments or potential unintended consequences are entertained, and finally an [expected]
cost-benefit analysis is calculated to show the probable positive impact of the proposed intervention.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of attributes an effective paper must include:
• a clear explanation of the problem/issue being addressed
• information educating the reader about the history and apparent causes of the sub-optimal economic
outcome to which the nudge will be applied
• an explicit and actionable recommendation
• an estimate the most likely impacts
• an exhaustive accounting of possible unintended consequences
• empirical evaluation of the expected costs and benefits the nudge is likely to generate and to what
groups those costs and benefits are likely to accrue
• a review of the relevant academic literature