More Insights – Page 8

Locusts and Covid-19: Africa braces for a double blow

Juliana Nkirote, 49, a smallholder farmer in Ntangilia, Kenya, watched helplessly last February as an army of locusts landed in her two-acre farm, devouring her source of livelihood. Now she’s bracing…

One size does not fit all: how our cross cultural research agenda is making room for truly generalizable results

An academic paper is often judged by how well it has understood the field it is studying and its contribution towards advancing said field. By that standard behavioral economics literature…

The sausage is in the making: how we’re refining research methods for higher quality data

We have all been through it at some point in our academic lives. Palpable tension, and just a sprinkle [or five] of panic when the exam invigilator barks “15 minutes…

Mapping out methods: bringing structure to the study of behavior

Say you have a problem procrastinating. You would like to change this as you end up doing most things at the last moment. First, you’d have to figure out why…

The engagement toolbox: four major engagement models to think about before any project

Milestones are a matter of perspective. For parents, five years is critical in the development of a child. It forms the foundation of your child’s learning, physical and emotional growth.…

5 reflections to strengthen civic engagement: context is king

Our determination to set up behavioral labs in non-WEIRD countries was driven by the idea that changing the context would change the results. This idea, supported by our equally curious…

To live or not to leave: the tension between meeting basic needs and social distancing

Introduction For wealthy people from wealthy countries, it may not always be easy, though usually quite feasible to be socially distant: Just stay home as much as possible, maybe read…

Getting funding right in East Africa: top ten priorities for maximum impact

This is the first in a series of reflective thought pieces on our work in East Africa, especially as it relates to programming, partnerships and funding in the governance and…

Saving the children: how to create effective messaging to stop violence against children

In an experiment where people were asked to place numbers along a linear axis, many respondents placed a million, roughly halfway between a thousand and a billion (it really doesn’t go there).…

Give to Caesar: understanding taxpayer perceptions in Somaliland

As the saying goes — where there is a will, there is inheritance tax. Tax as the bane of existence has been a narrative that has been around since the…