Commitment Devices

02/01/2025 21 min

Listen "Commitment Devices"

Episode Synopsis

We discuss the concept of commitment devices, which are mechanisms individuals use to restrict their future choices and promote self-control. The first source explores the theoretical foundations for commitment devices, focusing on models of time-inconsistent preferences and how these preferences lead to a demand for commitment. It further investigates the effectiveness of different types of commitments, including soft commitments that rely on social pressure or personal rules, and hard commitments that involve financial penalties or physical constraints. The second source delves into the application of commitment devices in the context of climate policy. The authors conduct an experiment to understand how different policy interventions, such as reducing uncertainty about climate change, introducing costly commitment devices like renewable energy investment, or altering ethical frameworks with a veil of ignorance, influence individual behaviour and resource conservation. The final source focuses on the use of commitment devices in online behaviour change support systems, specifically on smartphone and social media usage. We discuss an experiment to assess the efficacy of soft commitment devices, like app limits, in reducing phone use and examine the impact of financial incentives, social support, and individual self-control on the effectiveness of these devices.

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