Behavioural economics allows us to understand how people think, choose, and decide. Thus, this branch of economics incorporates insights from other social sciences, especially psychology and sociology, to enrich the classical economic model.

Policy makers have been found to be sometimes biased by unfounded assertions about why people act and behave the way they do. These assertions can cause the implementation of a public policy or the provision of a service to society not to generate the expected results.1 Thus, governments are incorporating behavioural findings in the design of their policies to modify the behaviour and preferences of citizens through incentives, motivations, or nudges.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank and other research centres worldwide have made efforts to solve public policy problems using the tools of behavioural economics, focusing on improving the individual and collective decision-making of target populations. This has been possible thanks to partnerships and collaborations between these organisations and research centres with local and national governments.

In this regard, the actions carried out cover areas such as education, health, gender, social security, taxation, environment, finance, etc. These include the IDB study to increase prenatal medical visits by low-income women in Guatemala through behavioural interventions2 and the World Bank trial using reminders to promote tax compliance by Guatemalan taxpayers.3

For this reason, and as in previous editions, this workshop will be a space to show best practices in this area, as well as a vehicle to train public officials on the benefits of behavioural economics and its tools, as a way to achieve better public policies through the exchange of experiences, the development of practical cases and the addressing of local problems.

1. Understand the conceptual foundations of behavioural economics.
2. Share best practices and experiences of public policies developed under a behavioural approach.
3. Analyse the design of economic policies based on behavioural economics.
4. Introduce the implementation of economic policies based on behavioural economics in the Guatemalan context.
5. Develop project proposals to address local problems using a behavioural approach.

The III Workshop on public policy instruments based on behavioural economics is organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through the Behavioural Economics Group.

• Time: 09:00 – 17:00 (Guatemala time | GMT-6)
• Modality: this workshop will be held in a hybrid form (face-to-face and virtual), under a theoretical-practical scheme.

Face-to-face: Hotel Clarion Suites. 14 Street 3-08, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Virtual: register through the following link: https://bit.ly/3Ft2LEO (only applies for the workshop on 09/05/2023)

• Aimed at: The theoretical session is open to all. The practical session will be by invitation by the organisers, aimed at Guatemalan public officials in charge of the design and implementation of public policies in education, health, social assistance, environment, finance, agriculture, livestock, food, energy, social development, communications, infrastructure, and housing; as well as people linked to the academic sector (limited places).
• Language: Spanish

Coordination of Economic Recovery
Tel: +58 212 9557108/07
E-mail: recuperacion_economica@sela.org

Elisabet Torres
Analyst of Economic Recovery
Tel: +58 212 9557109
E-mail: etorres@sela.org

Day 1: 09 May 2023