1. Read the introduction to the article “Behavioural economics vs social practice theory: Perspectives from inside the United Kingdom government” by Sam Hampton and Rob Adams and answer the following questions:
- What is a piece of research the writer has conducted?
- Did the writer give an answer to a question that he/she has been given or chosen?
- Was it a subject of common interest?
- Did the writer manage to synthesize research done by others on a topic?
Behavioural economics has become one of the most successful social sciences when it comes to influencing energy policy discourse. Moving beyond homo economicus as a way of understanding energy behaviours, it highlights how individuals can be subject to systematic bias, and may be ‘benevolently nudged’ towards policy goals such as reduced energy consumption [1]. Proponents of practice theory in the energy research community have criticised the behavioural economics approach, arguing that ‘nudge’ interventions fail to challenge the systems and structures which embed patterns of energy consumption into the social world [2,3]. Rather than focus on the individual as the principle unit of research, this approach, developed primarily in sociology, places the practice at the centre of analysis.
The goal of this paper is to contribute to the ongoing debate on the role of the social sciences in influencing energy and environmental policy [4–8]. Presenting perspectives from inside government, it addresses the apparent standoff between proponents of behavioural economics and adopters of social practice theory in academic energy research. Our focus is on the UK, which has become a leader in applying behavioural economics to policy, particularly since the formation of the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in 2010. Established by David Cameron’s new coalition government, BIT has now gained global influence [9]. Meanwhile, UK energy researchers have also been at the forefront of developing, applying and debating practice theory [[10,11] see also debates initiated by [2,5]]. Although we focus on a single country and two distinct theories, the paper makes a contribution to understanding the relationship between research and policy, with international relevance.
Our empirical investigation seeks to understand how social research is used to inform policy development, and the reasons behind the relative success of behavioural economics in gaining influence within the UK government. The paper draws on auto-ethnographic insights and a set of in-depth interviews with civil servants working on energy, environment, sustainability and transport policies across Whitehall1 departments. Some social scientific literature has argued that government policy making is wedded to the epistemic tradition of methodological individualism, and the notion of individual behaviour change.
However, we show that GSRs are both aware of and open to non-individualistic social science including practice theory. We discuss the reasons why practice theory remains peripheral within mainstream policy discourse, presenting perspectives from GSRs, juxtaposed with arguments which help to explain why policy engagement is not a ubiquitous ambition for all energy researchers. Acknowledging the fervency of argumentation on all sides, and applying insights from the two theories themselves, we tentatively suggest ways in which GSRs could help, and be helped, to incorporate practice theory into policy discourse.
2. What is the difference between textbooks, websites, journal articles, official reports, newspaper or magazine articles, e-books?