On October 4, António Silva (ISEG) presents the study "Reducing speeding at zero-cost using behavioral science - a large scale experimental field trialport Switching and Productivity".
This week's seminar runs from 5pm to 6pm on Tuesday, due to the public holiday.
Abstract:
Do firms respond to local customer and supplier cost shocks by reducing their share of imported intermediate goods? We compute changes in relative unit labor costs vRoad traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death globally: Over 3,500 people die on roads every day, resulting in 1.3 million preventable deaths each year. Our research explores whether low-cost behavioral interventions can provide cost-effective increases in driver safety by reducing the likelihood of drivers exceeding speed limits. We redesigned information sent to drivers who had been caught exceeding speeding limits using a series of behavioral insights. To evaluate the redesigned information, we conducted a randomized control trial in Sussex, United Kingdom, where we sent 51,829 drivers who were caught exceeding the speed limit either the original materials or our redesigned materials. We found that the redesigned information resulted in a 1.06pp (23%) reduction in the likelihood of exceeding the speed limit again within 6 months of being sent materials compared to the control. This difference remained at 1.02pp 12 months post-intervention. Our findings demonstrate that a zero-cost behavioral intervention can materially change driver behavior, and suggests the potential for behavioral interventions to reduce traffic accidents.
The research seminars will take place from September 21 to December 14, on Wednesdays, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, at the Novo Banco Amphitheater (Quelhas Building, 4th floor).
Faculty from ISEG and other national and international schools will participate in the sessions, when they will address topics related with Economics, Management, Finance, Social Sciences, and Mathematics.
Free admission.
