Working Paper: NBER ID: w18580
Authors: Heather Royer; Mark F. Stehr; Justin R. Sydnor
Abstract: Financial incentives have been shown to have strong positive short‐run effects for problematic health behaviors, but the effects often disappear once incentive programs end. This paper analyzes the results of a large‐scale workplace field experiment to examine whether self‐funded commitment contracts improve the long‐run effects of incentive programs. Consistent with existing findings, workers responded strongly to an incentive targeting use of the company gym, but long‐run effects were modest, at best. However, workers in the treatment arm that combined the incentive program with a commitment contract option showed long‐lasting behavioral changes, persisting even 1 year after the incentive ended.
Keywords: Incentives; Commitment Contracts; Exercise; Field Experiment; Health Behavior
JEL Codes: D03; D9; I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Demographics (J11) | demand for commitment contracts (D86) |
| Commitment contracts (D86) | exercise frequency (Y60) |
| Financial incentives (M52) | gym attendance (Z29) |
| Financial incentives (M52) | gym attendance (during incentive period) (J22) |
| Combination of financial incentives and commitment contracts (D86) | sustained gym attendance (I19) |
| Combination of financial incentives and commitment contracts (D86) | long-lasting behavioral changes (D91) |