Presenting our new Working Paper Series!

Bicchieri, C., Das, U., Gant, S. & Sander, R. (2022). Examining norms and social expectations surrounding exclusive breastfeeding: Evidence from Mali. World Development, 153, 105924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105824

Bicchieri, C., Fatas, E., Aldama, A., Casas, A., Deshpande, I., Lauro, M., Parilli, C., Spohn, M., Pereira, P., & Wen, R. (2021). In science we (should) trust: Expectations and compliance across nine countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plos One, Forthcoming. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-106840/v1

Bicchieri, C., Dimant, E., & Xiao, E. (2021). Deviant or wrong? The effects of norm information on the efficacy of punishment. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 188, 209–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.002

Ashraf, S., Bicchieri, C., Delea, M. G., Das, U., Chauhan, K., Kuang, J., Shpenev, A., & Thulin, E. (2021). Norms and Social Network–Centric Behavior Change Intervention (Nam Nalavazhvu) for Improved Toilet Usage in Peri-Urban Communities of Tamil Nadu: Protocol for a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(5), e24407. https://doi.org/10.2196/24407

Drawing on several intellectual traditions and methods, including those of social psychology, experimental economics and evolutionary game theory, Bicchieri provides an integrated account of how social norms emerge, why and when we follow them, and the situations where we are most likely to focus on relevant norms.

The primary goal of this document is to provide the necessary information on the importance, nature and application of the theory of social norms to sanitation specialists. This document distills insights from joint collaborations with UNICEF, and aims to promote positive social change with regard to many harmful collective patterns of behavior related to sanitation.

Is it possible to change social expectations around forced marriage, genital mutilations, and public health practices like vaccinations and sanitation? If so, how? What tools might we use? This short book explores how social norms work, and how changing them – changing preferences, beliefs, and especially social expectations – can potentially improve lives all around the world.

In the second phase of our study of the social determinants of open defecation in India, we have produced a report detailing our diagnosis of a series of collective behaviors relevant to open defecation. We also describe patterns among our norms data to previously collected social network data. Furthermore, we track changes over time and other relevant patterns.