Nudge the Lunch: A Field Experiment Testing Menu-Primacy Effects on Lunch Choices

Ola Andersson,Lif Nelander

doi:10.3390/g12010002

Ola Andersson, Lif Nelander

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/g12010002

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Abstract

By way of a field experiment conducted at a university cafeteria this paper finds that placing a vegetarian option instead of a meat option at the top of a menu decreases the share of meat dishes sold by 11%. This translates to a 6% decrease of daily emissions due to food sales. Using data on payment method, we find that the result is most likely driven by non-students responding to the nudge.

Highlights

A nudge [1] is described as a small, non-intrusive push that promotes a more desirable outcome for the individual as well as for society
For the fish option the average share is lower during control days and for meat the average share sold is higher during control days than during treatment days
Where treatmentt is a binary variable taking the value 1 during treatment days, when the vegetarian option is placed at the top of the menu board and 0 during control days, when the meat option is placed at the top of the menu board. β captures the estimated effect of placing the vegetarian option at the top of the menu on the share of vegetarian options sold. xt is a vector of factor variables of which the estimates will be conditioned on, as defined in Table 2. γt is weekday fixed effects, outlined as a set of binary variables for each weekday. α is the constant

Summary

Introduction

A nudge [1] is described as a small, non-intrusive push that promotes a more desirable outcome for the individual as well as for society. This study analyses if a small nudge that reduces the salience of ordering a meat dish can push individuals to make a more sustainable choice when choosing what to eat. We do this by conducting a field experiment [5] at a university restaurant where we randomly assign the menu order each day, with either a meat or a vegetarian option at the top of a uniformly priced, three-option menu. We find that replacing a meat option with a vegetarian option at the top of the menu significantly reduces the number of meat dishes ordered by 11%. Regulars using a customer card and occasional customers not using a loyalty card are significantly affected by the nudge, reducing their consumption of meat

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Conclusion