Do spanish university students support nudges? Active promotion of public policies and citizen responsibility

Abstract

In recent years, public policymakers have increasingly turned to behavioural economics or social psychology to achieve favourable outcomes for citizens. Nudges appear in this context: instruments at the service of promoting public policies characterized by inducing the population to make more sustainable decisions, while maintaining freedom of choice at a minimum cost. But are these persuasive ways of promoting public policy supported? Developed from a representative survey, this research aims to find out the degree of receptivity of Spanish university students to the use of nudges as a strategy to actively encourage responsible social behaviour. The results confirmed their high level of acceptance towards such tools. Specifically, significant results were obtained related to the degree of receptivity to the use of nudges in sociodemographic variables such as sex, political affiliation or religious belief, or with behavior patterns associated with collectivism or greater trust in institutions. These data would make it advisable to increase the use of nudges to promote responsible social behaviour in the context of higher education in Spain.