TITLE:
Nudging and Boosting: A Theoretical Framework for Policy Optimization
AUTHORS:
Michele Anelli, Alessio Gioia, Chiara Gioia
KEYWORDS:
Nudging, Boosting, Consumer Theory, Evolutionary Function
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.13 No.3,
June
5,
2023
ABSTRACT: Problems of optimization are pervasive in the modern world. Policy
Makers, indeed, have the aim of adopting the
best policies mix, under their budget constraint, to maximize economic and social welfare. We exploit the
classical Consumer Theory to introduce the Policy Maker optimization
problem in steering or empowering good decisions. Specifically, we focus on two
main behavioral policies: nudging and boosting. This framework allows us,
indeed, to focus on the main building blocks
of the so-defined evolutionary function. Since the policy mix depends on the cost of the different policies and
their different elasticities, under the (debatable) assumption of
rational citizens (i.e. constant returns to scale), this means that these
latter are the most important variables that should be estimated. Specifically,
by means of surveys, we suggest approximating the elasticities level.