Testing the Use of Choice Defaults to Stimulate Behavior of Dancers

• Název práce v češtině: Testování využití choice defaults ke stimulování chování tanečníků
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Testing the Use of Choice Defaults to Stimulate Behavior of Dancers
• Klíčová slova anglicky: behavioral economics, nudges, choice defaults, healthcare, injury prevention, long-term effects
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2020/2021
• Typ práce: bakalářská práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Institut ekonomických studií (23-IES)
• Vedoucí / školitel: doc. PhDr. Julie Chytilová, Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem
• Datum přihlášení: 07.08.2021
• Datum zadání: 07.08.2021
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 07.06.2022 09:00
• Místo konání obhajoby: Opletalova - Opletalova 26, O105, Opletalova - místn. č. 105
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 02.05.2022
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 07.06.2022
• Oponenti: Mgr. Petra Landovská

Seznam odborné literatury

Ariely, D. (2009). Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. HarperCollins UK.
Johnson, E. J., & Goldstein, D. (2003). Do Defaults Save Lives? Science, 302(5649), 1338–1339.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2009). Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin.
Venema, T. A. G., Kroese, F. M., & Ridder, D. T. D. D. (2018). I’m still standing: A longitudinal study on the effect of a default nudge. Psychology & Health, 33(5), 669–681.

Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce

Research question and motivation
Johnson and Goldstein (2003) demonstrated in their research on organ donation the importance of setup of default options. The authors focused on strategies which countries adopted when seeking potential organ donors. They found that the number of people who consented to become organ donors in Austria was by more than 80 percentage points higher than in Germany. It was explained by the fact that Austria adopted opt-out policy (people were enrolled in the program unless they actively left it) while Germany followed opt-in policy (people could register to become organ donors).
The thesis aims to test whether the tools of behavioral economics could be used in a different environment than they are traditionally used. Specifically, it focuses on choice defaults. By conducting a field experiment, the thesis aims to test if the choice defaults could be used to stimulate behavior of dancers. It intends to apply choice defaults to motivate dancers to stretch after exercise. Studies showed that stretching after exercises brings several benefits, such as injury prevention, better flexibility and increased joint range of motion (Behm et al., 2021; Ko et al., 2020; Medeiros & Martini, 2018; Tallat et al., 2018). This could provide significant results for the implementation of nudges in healthcare sector since injury prevention was indicated as one of the key factors in decreasing government expenditures on healthcare (Eliakim et al., 2020; Hickey et al., 2014; King et al., 2013; Michaud et al., 2011). Moreover, health expenditures of individuals could be lowered as well.
Furthermore, the thesis aims to study the differences in opt-in and opt-out conditions and focus on long-term effects of defaults that require long-term participation.

Contribution
Literature on default options has focused on many other different topics, such as promotion of healthy lifestyle (Arno & Thomas, 2016; Thaler & Sunstein, 2009; Venema et al., 2018), privacy on the Internet (Johnson et al., 2002) and insurance and retirement plans (Kahneman, 2011; Madrian & Shea, 2001; Thaler & Sunstein, 2009).
Nonetheless, there has been little or no focus on the application of the tools of behavioral economics in the healthcare sector. According to Eurostat, total government expenditures on healthcare in EU countries reached on average 7% of GDP in 2019. One of the components of these expenditures is financial burden associated with injuries. Literature agrees that injury prevention is essential in efforts to reduce public and private financial burden (Eliakim et al., 2020; Hickey et al., 2014; King et al., 2013; Michaud et al., 2011). Therefore, this thesis will focus on possible application of nudges with aim to prevent injuries.
Furthermore, less attention was given to studying the long-term effects of default options that require long-term participation rather than making one-off decision (Venema et al., 2018). Adults instead of children were usually subject to research in the literature available and here has been little discussion about the introduction of nudges among sportsmen.

Methodology
I will conduct a field experiment at a dance school. Using choice defaults, participants aged 6 to 17 will be encouraged to join a 5-minute after class stretching club. Dance groups, to which participants enroll at the beginning of academic year, will be randomly distributed into two parts. Control group will be exposed to opt-in option; the participants will be offered to sign up for the club. Opt-out option, defined as a possibility to quit the club, will apply to the treatment group. The participation in club will be voluntary. Moreover, at the beginning of the experiment, the importance and effects of stretching will be mentioned.
The data (the number of participants attending a class, the number of participants who joined the club and the number of participants stretching after the class) is to be collected for a period of a month, twice each week. Time passed since the beginning of the experiment is to be observed as well to evaluate long-term effects.
Finally, the data will be analyzed using econometric analysis (OLS regression and statistical tests). Dependent variable measured as a percentage of children who stretched after a class out of those who attended the class will be determined by a dummy variable for the treatment, age of participants, variables representing characteristics of the group and a variable controlling for the time passed since the beginning of the experiment.

Outline
1. Introduction
2. Literature review
3. Experimental Design
4. Methodology
5. Hypotheses
6. Data, Results
7. Discussion of results
8. Conclusion