BUDGET PERSPECTIVES 2019, PAPER 2. USING BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIMENTS TO PRE-TEST POLICY. July 2018

Lunn, Pete and Robertson, Deirdre (2018) BUDGET PERSPECTIVES 2019, PAPER 2. USING BEHAVIOURAL EXPERIMENTS TO PRE-TEST POLICY. July 2018. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

Good policy development requires the conviction and courage to know when to push through and when to admit uncertainty. This paper argues that policy can be improved when uncertainty is admitted and paired with rigorous scientific methodology. We use international and Irish examples to show how experimental behavioural research is a powerful but underused tool that policymakers can use to reduce uncertainty and add a scientific foundation to the policymaking process.

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