Innovation in Indian policymaking, pension schemes in Ghana, and basic income in California

A roundup of what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week.

Photo by Clint Adair on Unsplash

Inspiration can come from so many places, and diverse perspectives are indispensable to how we approach complex problems in our work. We throw around think pieces, podcasts, studies, and news in our Slack channels, and we wanted to open up the conversation to our readers as well. We hope these weekly digests will give you something to chew on over the weekend. We’d also love to hear from you! So feel free to start a discussion below, or reach out to us on Twitter or email us at airbel@rescue.org.

Read

+Art And Science Of The Nudge — Innovation In Indian Policymaking. A year ago India announced that it was developing a nudge unit in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Nudges in policymaking, pioneered by the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) under former British prime minister David Cameron, could unlock meaningful and massive social change in India. The article mentions the contextual limitations as well, and the benefit of having digital and design in mind (h/t).

+A Systematic Scoping Review of the Choice Architecture Movement: Towards Understanding When and Why Nudges Work. Speaking of nudges, a study recently came out that maps the current movement, and highlights the limitations of current evidence of when nudges can be applied. The paper lists a few recommendations for building a stronger evidence base.

+Can a new pension scheme offer security to informal workers in Ghana? 80% of Ghanaians are employed in the informal sector. But Ghanaians are also living longer, so what does this mean for safeguarding their health as they grow older? Persuading people to register isn’t hard, but there are challenges in encouraging them to continue saving.

+3 years ago, Stockton, California, was bankrupt. Now it’s trying out a basic income. The goal of Stockton’s experiment is to find out how people invest their money when given basic income. On a semi-related note, apparently Finland’s experiment looks like it’s unsuccessful due to poor design.

Listen

+Darrick Hamilton, associate professor of Economics and Urban Policy and director of the Doctoral program in Public and Urban Policy at the New School in New York, talks about the racial wealth gap in the U.S., and his proposal for a federal job guarantee program. One takeaway: “We often think of wealth as an outcome, but it really is an input that leads to all types of abilities, and human capabilities in one’s life.”

Thanks Natan, Eva, and Shirin for sharing.