The evidence shows that nudge effects disappear when incentives are short term; ‘deposit contracts’ may provide the answer to changing people’s behaviour

Effective policies that aim to nudge people to alter their behaviour to become more healthy have been increasingly under the spotlight. Taking the example of stopping smoking, Adam Oliver argues that conventional nudge initiatives are rarely successful in the long term. Instead, he argues, policy makers should take a closer look at ‘deposit contracts’, which would give people a real financial incentive to change their behaviour.