Behavioral Economics and the Bay - An Exploratory
Workshop
Presentation to the Citizens Advisory Committee
NOVEMBER 20, 2014
Planning Committee and Attendees
Planning Committee
Presenters / Attendees
Charlie Abdalla, Committee Chair, Penn State
University
Jamie Baxter, Chesapeake Bay Trust
Dana Archer Dolan, George Mason University School of Public
Policy
Suzanne Etgen, Watershed Stewards Academy, Arlington Echo
Outdoor Education Center
Lamonte Garber, Stroud Water Research Center
David Just, Professor, Cornell University
Sarah Lynch, Director, World Wildlife Fund
Laura McCann, University of Missouri
Kent Messer, University of Delaware
Amanda Pruzinsky, Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc.
Ann Sorensen, American Farmland Trust
Lauren Taneyhill, Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc.
Susan Julius, EPA Office of Research and
Development
Matt Ellis, Chesapeake Research Consortium
Poornima Madhavan, National Academy of
Sciences
Jim Pease, Virginia Tech
Marc Ribaudo, USDA-Economic Research
Service
Kurt Stephenson, Virginia Tech
Lisa Wainger, University of Maryland
Workshop Goals
 Broaden knowledge of behavioral economics and potential for applications in the Bay
 Explore application to specific problem areas:


non-point source agricultural pollution
household/homeowner land and water management
 Increase knowledge exchange and expand collaboration among practitioners and
researchers to address Bay-specific policy challenges
 Identify and prioritize follow-up strategies for extending insights from the workshop
 Communicate this knowledge to state and EPA policymakers and other key audiences
Definition of Behavioral Economics (BE)
"Behavioral economics is…the intersection of economics and psychology.”
Traditional economic theory assumes that people are rational and make
choices that maximize their happiness.
vs.
Behavioral economic theory accounts for nonrational behavior, (e.g.,
procrastination, imperfect information, inherent psychological biases) that do
not always make people good decision-makers
Adapted from Jodi Beggs (http://economics.about.com)
Example of BE Research Results
Research focuses on discovering how choices/decisions can be influenced by relatively subtle changes
in framing or phrasing (Just, 2014). One example from the workshop was:
Healthy Lunches:
• Research uncovered factors that influence high school students’ lunch food choices.
• To promote healthy choices, changes were made to placement and presentation of food:
• Healthy choices were placed within easy reach while unhealthy choices were moved outside of an easy
reach.
• A healthy entrée, a bean burrito, was renamed to make it sound more exciting.
• Some healthy choices were more attractively displayed and available near the cashier.
• Changes resulted in many more students selecting healthier foods for lunch.
• Careful selection of the ways in which choices were presented improved the students’ food
decisions without limiting what was available.
Workshop Details
 Held August 27-28 at SYSNC (Annapolis)
 17 participated
 Keynote speaker was: David Just, Cornell University
 Participants were from: Federal Agencies, NGOs (Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center, Stroud
Water Center, American Farmland Trust, Chesapeake Bay Trust), Universities (U. of Missouri, U. of
Delaware, George Mason U.)
 Breakout sessions explored:




Areas of greatest need related to individual decisions that cause water quality problems
Situations (decision-making contexts) that have the greatest potential for applications of behavioral
economics in the Bay watershed
Recommendations for how to stimulate greater applied research and action on the above identified highpriority topics?
Potential recipients of the report and recommendations, and how the report’s messages should be
conveyed
 Conducted workshop evaluation
Research Recommendations
• Motivation for behaviors that can inform on Bay outreach and engagement programs
• Efficacy of programs geared toward informing homeowners about actions and links to the Bay
• Methods to account for BMP implementation by home owners.
• Methods to embed stewardship and water quality improvements into farmers’ social identity
• Methods to cultivate peer pressure related to stewardship to encourage change.
• Effective visual demonstrations / techniques that encourage behavioral change among various
communities.
• Information that would motivate farmers to increase their participation in conservation programs.
• Collaborative learning communities that identify opportunities and refine implementation
approaches related to behavior change, e.g.:
• Partnerships between practitioners and academics for mutual learning experiences and information
exchange to support behavioral change programs that address on-the-ground implementation challenges.
Workshop Goals were Met
• The workshop was effective in
• Broadening knowledge of behavioral economics and how this field might be applied in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed.
• facilitating an in-depth exploration of the potential application of behavioral economics to non-point
source agricultural pollution or household/homeowner land and water management.
• identifying and prioritizing follow-up strategies that will serve to extend insights beyond the attendees
to the larger community of researchers and regulators/policymakers.
• BE research is already underway in the Bay
• Such efforts represent learning opportunities for organizations and individuals that could apply those
same techniques in other places.
• A database of such efforts, including key characteristics of the environmental problem and solution, is
being developed and will facilitate learning and expansion of the application of behavioral sciences to
environmental problems in the Bay.
• The STAC will look for opportunities to contribute to this research for issues specific to the Bay