Behavioral Economic Insights in Early Childhood Interventions

Explore behavioral economic insights for optimizing early childhood interventions in this webinar hosted by the University-Based Child and Family Policy Consortium and the Society for Research in Child Development. Discover strategies such as Enhanced Active Choice, leveraging social networks, and establishing social norms to improve program participation and effectiveness. Examine emerging findings on choice structure and social influence in early education programs. Delve into the ethical considerations of behavioral economics, including the concept of libertarian paternalism. Gain valuable knowledge to enhance the impact of early childhood initiatives and improve outcomes for children and families.

University-Based Child & Family Policy Consortium
Enhanced Active Choice • Requires individuals to make an explicit choice for themselves • Encourages individuals to think about an important decision and avoid procrastination
Social Network • The set of actors with whom an individual interacts and has relationships • Ideas, cues, preferences, and behaviors travel within social networks • Information is more likely to affect behavior when it is provided through strong ties than compared to weak ties
Social Norms • The rules and standards understood by group members that guide behavior . Parents may not yet have norms about participating in early education programs . Capitalize on new setting to establish norms
Emerging Findings From Our Work 1. Choice Structure: In opt-out condition, 96.2% of parents received information campaign vs. In opt-in condition, 1.4% of parents received information campaign 2. Social Influence: Parent attendance at first few sessions is high presenting opportunities to leverage social influence
Considering the Ethics of BE • Shaping the environment in which decisions are made to overcome cognitive biases → Libertarian Paternalism