Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Collins, Tracy

Area of Concentration

Economics

Abstract

Evidence from behavioral economics has provided vast insights into the systematic biases that can lead to irrational consumer choices. Identifying the reasoning behind individual’s behavior is key for effective policy making. If people’s behavior is due to lack of information and knowledge combined with social influences, default biases, and present biases then using those core ideas when designing policy is extremely important. In an ideal world, people will behave rationally, weighing their options carefully knowing that some decisions have considerable consequences. In the real world though, individuals suffer from biased decision making and irrational consumer behavior. In a survey experiment, I measure the impact of the availability of increased and more transparent levels of information on millennials’ decision making habits. Survey results show that increased levels of information work as an effective nudge to influence consumer decisions.

Download

Share

COinS