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12 - On the Use of Behavioural Science in a Pandemic

from Part I - Evidence from Experiments and Behavioural Insights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

Joan Costa-Font
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Matteo M. Galizzi
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
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Summary

In the UK government’s response and media reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, behavioural scientists have been consulted extensively, and occasionally maligned. The criticism of behavioural scientists, or at least those labelling themselves as such, has sometimes been deserved, in that some have attempted to address questions that fall beyond the remit of this multi-disciplinary field, have displayed undue confidence in their statements and advice, and/or have little discernible expertise in the branches of behavioural science that contribute most meaningfully to the identification of deep systematic patterns in human behaviour (e.g., behavioural economics and cognitive and evolutionary psychology). That being said, in this chapter we argue that behavioural scientists do have a potentially important role to play in any present and future infectious disease pandemic response, after expanding a little on those aspects of a pandemic where their advice is perhaps a little more circumspect.

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Behavioural Economics and Policy for Pandemics
Insights from Responses to COVID-19
, pp. 232 - 241
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

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Krpan, D., Makki, F., Saleh, N., Brink, I., & Klauznicer, H. V. (2021). When behavioural science can make a difference in times of COVID-19. Behavioural Public Policy, 5(2), 153179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, A. (2019). Reciprocity and the Art of Behavioural Public Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Humboldt, W. (1791–92/1993). The Limits of State Action. Indianapolis: The Liberty Fund.Google Scholar

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