To encourage changes in behaviours, public authorities introduce laws, taxes or raise awareness. This requires immediate adherence and a high level of motivation on the part of the agents: 2 conditions that are difficult to meet. Indeed, several cognitive and emotional biases influence the decision-making of economic agents, and must be taken into account for the implementation of good public policy. To do this, behavioral economics shows that agents are rather irrational and predictable, and then proposes a set of tools to influence their decisions, including the nudge theory (Richard Thaler, 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics).
A nudge, or gentle nudge, consists of making small changes in an environment to change behaviors and help those with an intention to act, without constraining the individual and in the latter's own interest.
Example : a fake fly drawn on the bottom of the urinal in the toilets at Amsterdam airport reduced maintenance costs by 80%.
CJEA