Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232491 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8894
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
A large fraction of households have very little savings buffer and are therefore vulnerable to financial shocks. This paper examines whether a social norm nudge can induce such households to save more. We ran a large-scale field experiment at a retail bank in the Netherlands. We find that households who are exposed to the social norm nudge click more often on a link to a personal web page where they can start or adjust an automatic savings plan. However, analyzing detailed bank data, we find no treatment effect on actual savings, neither in the short run nor in the long run. Our null findings are quite precisely estimated. A complementary small-scale survey experiment suggests that people did notice the social norm nudge and also that it had an impact on savings intentions.
Subjects: 
household savings
field experiment
nudges
social norms
JEL: 
C93
D14
D90
E21
G40
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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