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| dc.title | Training Minds, Shaping Policies: Evidence from a Behavioral Economics Course for Public Officials |
| dc.contributor.author | Márquez, Karina |
| dc.contributor.author | Scartascini, Carlos |
| dc.contributor.orgunit | Department of Research and Chief Economist |
| dc.coverage | Latin America |
| dc.coverage | The Caribbean |
| dc.date.available | 2026-06-24T00:06:00 |
| dc.date.issue | 2026-06-24T00:06:00 |
| dc.description.abstract | Cognitive biases are pervasive, even among policymakers whose decisions have far-reaching welfare consequences. Yet little is known about whether scalable training can mitigate policymakers biases. This paper provides evidence from a randomized controlled trial embedded in an online behavioral economics course for public officials in Latin America and the Caribbean. Participants were randomly assigned to complete a seven-item diagnostic test either before or after the course, measuring cognitive reflection, applied behavioral knowledge, and policy-approach preference. Those tested afterward scored 0.87 standard deviations higher on average, with especially large gains in applied reasoning and problem solving. These results, robust to within-subject comparisons, suggest that short, structured online training can enhance reasoning relevant to public decision-making. The findings both highlight the potential of large-scale cognitive training to improve public sector performance and motivate further research on its policy impact. |
| dc.format.extent | 57 |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0014087 |
| dc.identifier.url | https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Training-Minds-Shaping-Policies-Evidence-from-a-Behavioral-Economics-Course-for-Public-Officials.pdf |
| dc.language.iso | en |
| dc.publisher | Inter-American Development Bank |
| dc.subject | Behavioral Economics |
| dc.subject | Behavioral Science |
| dc.subject | Saving |
| dc.subject | Public Policy |
| dc.subject | Standard Deviation |
| dc.subject | Tax Compliance |
| dc.subject | Women |
| dc.subject | Population Aging |
| dc.subject | Gender |
| dc.subject.jelcode | D91 - Intertemporal Household Choice • Life Cycle Models and Saving |
| dc.subject.jelcode | C93 - Field Experiments |
| dc.subject.jelcode | H83 - Public Administration • Public Sector Accounting and Audits |
| dc.subject.keywords | Training Evaluation;Policymakers;online education;Field experiment |
| dc.type | Working Papers |
| idb.identifier.pubnumber | IDB-WP-01746 |
| idb.operation | BK-C2135 |