Social norms don’t always work: An experiment to encourage more efficient fees collection for students

Abstract

The use of social norms has become the tool of choice for behaviourally informed interventions. However, it is still not clear for what type of contexts and populations is this intervention effective. This randomised controlled trial with 4298 students tests the applicability of social norms to improve the late payment of university tuition fees. We find that providing information to late payers does not increase their likelihood of paying. This finding highlights how the use of social norms may not always be an effective tool in influencing behaviour.