Nudging with Information : A Randomized Field Experiment

We provide a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effects on people's behavior of reminders about investment activities (i.e. with up-front costs and delayed benefits), such as education and healthy behavior. By means of a randomized field experiment, we show that simple weekly reminders induce users of a gym to substantially increase their levels of physical exercise over an extensive period. Limited attention may help explain our results, and we find evidence of habit formation induced by reminders. These results show that a virtuous behavior, such as following a healthy life style, can be effectively promoted with a little cost