ABSTRACT

Since the last two decades, public policy around the world, specifically in the first world countries has been guided by behavioral insights to nudge people to increase the efficacy of government’s interventions and policies. The development of a popular group of behavioral insights known as EAST framework by the first ever behavioral insight team of UK led to the evolution of FEAST framework. In this context, this study analyzes the efficacy of interventions and policies of government regarding the COVID-19 pandemic by finding if any of these were behaviorally informed, were any of the behavioral insights taken into consideration and how FEAST framework may help in nudging people to increase the efficacy of COVID-19 intervention in Pakistan. For this purpose, focus group discussions, episodic and semi-structured interviews were conducted with the representative of government institution, medical experts and recovered patients of COVID-19. Correspondingly, the government’s produced and disseminated visuals based public service messages and policy documents during COVID-19 were analyzed. Consequently, the results depicted that only interventions and policies regarding precautionary measures, risk communication and vaccination were behaviorally informed while none of the behavioral insights were intentionally taken into consideration but some aspects of progressive, regressive, educative and architectural behavioral insights along with insights of FEAST framework were identified in the COVID19 interventions of government and the educative one performed most effectively. Moreover, emotional nudge, national and group reinforcement bias were also identified in the government interventions. Based on the results, this study emphasizes the need for government to develop its own  behavioral insight team to conduct surveys and experimental based studies to develop its own behavioral insights based on its own regional environmental characteristics. Then, behavioral insight unit can be established in every government institution which can collaborate with other behavioral insight units of the world to behaviorally inform public policy for improved efficacy.