AEAweb: Journal Article Full-Text Access
Note to Institutional Subscribers: If you normally access AEAweb journal content via your university or firm's subscription and receive this page, please click
here. The most likely causes of this are a recently changed IP address, a new subscription, or the renewal of a lapsed institutional subscription. This page will stop appearing on the next synchronisation of the document delivery and authentication systems.
You may also click here for pay-per-view, Athens login and other access options .
AEA Members, please click the button below to access the login form:
Huysentruyt, Marieke, and
Eva Lefevere. 2010. "Child Benefit Support and Method of Payment: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Belgium."
,
2(2): 163-84.
Show Article Details
DOI: 10.1257/pol.2.2.163
Abstract:We examine the effects of information and information presentation format on individuals' choice of payment method in a large randomized experiment carried out with the Belgian National Office for Family Benefits. We find that a one-time mailing providing information about method of payment for child benefit support caused a fourfold increase in parents' decision to switch from payment by check to electronic payment. Simple, low-cost supplements significantly raised people's responsiveness to the mailing. Our results suggest that complexity and information (processing) costs pose significant barriers to transitioning to electronic payment methods, and that deliberate efforts to lower these costs can contribute to large behavioral changes. (JEL D83, J13)
Additional links:
Download Data Set
Authors:
Huysentruyt, Marieke (London School of Economics and SITE, Stockholm School of Economics)
Lefevere, Eva (Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, U Antwerp)
JEL Classifications:
D83: Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief
J13: Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
If you are an AEA member and do not have an AEAweb login, please
click here.
If you would like to become an AEA member, please see our
membership page.
If you arrived at this page via a journal article link, you will be redirected to the pdf after successful login.
If your first login attempt fails, and you have recently signed up for access or have recently changed your password, you may need to wait a few moments and try again.
Please contact us at
notify@aeaweb.org with any problems or questions.
Contents of Current Issues
June 2013 AER
Spring 2013 JEP
May 2013 AEJ: Policy
May 2013 AEJ: Micro
April 2013 AEJ: Macro
April 2013 AEJ: Applied
March 2013 JEL
Virtual Field Journals
In the News:
An article in the Journal of Economic Perspectives entitled, "The Growth of Finance" by Harvard Business School professors, Robin Greenwood and David Scharfstein, was recently explored by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. News & World Report cites Princeton-based Burton Malkiel's article in the Journal of Economic Perspectives as a preferred source of "sound financial advice" for investors.
The Huffington Post reports on a study addressing the influence of lifestyle factors on shrinking height in the elderly published in the April issue of AEJ: Applied Economics.
AEA in News Archive
Contact Us
