Psychological Frictions and the Incomplete Take-Up of Social Benefits: Evidence from an IRS Field Experiment
通过一项与美国国税局合作的现场实验，研究了心理摩擦（如混淆、信息复杂性和污名化）如何导致劳动所得税抵免（EITC）的领取不足，发现简化信息和提高福利显著性能有效增加领取，但减少污名感和申请成本的尝试无效。
We address the role of “psychological frictions” in the incomplete take-up of EITC benefits with an IRS field experiment. We specifically assess the influence of program confusion, informational complexity, and stigma by evaluating response to experimental mailings distributed to 35,050 tax filers who failed to claim $26 million despite an initial notice. While the mere receipt of the mailing, simplification, and the heightened salience of benefits led to substantial additional claiming, attempts to reduce perceived costs of stigma, application, and audits did not. The study, and accompanying surveys, suggests that low program awareness/understanding and informational complexity contribute to the puzzle of low take-up.