Behavioral Social Policy: The practice and exploration of Nudge in public welfare

Behavioral social policy (BSP) is a kind of social policy designed based on the characteristics of human behavior, using nudge as a policy tool for implementation. It is the application of behavioral science in the field of social policy. On the underlying principle of people s behavioral preferences, BSP pursues public welfare in a covert way rather than by means of obvious economic incentives. From the perspective of policy makers, nudge strategies in behavioral social policies can be divided into increase strate- gy, decrease strategy and adjustment strategy based on the consistency of willingness and informativity. These three strategies are applied in areas of people s livelihood such as re-hospitalization rate, children s health, community-based senior care, admission fund- ing, employment, organ transplantation, and targeted poverty alleviation to help people make better choices and to improve public welfare. As an emerging method and technol- ogy, nudge is not a cure-all. It requires policy makers to take tailored measures, make ac- curate identification, weigh the advantages and disadvantages, and avoid behavioral bu- reaucracy , in order to bring forth the modernization of national governance and maxi- mization of social interests.