Improving School Nutrition through Behavioral Economics

Amy Fain (Professional Development Coordinator here at CAP) sent me an interesting article on new research into the use of behavior economics to improve school nutrition programs. The new research is funded by $2 million from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The initiative represents a partnership between the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and Economic Research Service.  Officials are hoping [...]

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President Calls for Tax Savings Pioneered by CAP

I was pleased to see recent news that President Obama used his weekly address to announce new initiatives to promote savings. (White House, New York Times, New America Foundation). Among other ideas, he charged the IRS with implementing a checkbox on tax returns that would allow you to save a portion of your refund in [...]

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Heavy Lifting = Heavy Thinking

Miller-McCune News reports on a new study that found people think more carefully when they carry heavier objects: In another test, participants were asked to rate a series of arguments in favor of building a controversial subway system. Once again, those carrying the heavier clipboard seem to have thought through the issue more thoroughly: They [...]

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Decisions, Decisions, and School

One thing we’re concerned about at CAP is where our kids go after they leave our high quality early childhood program. Tulsa Public Schools is a “district of choice,” which means that parents can choose to send their children to schools other than the neighborhood school. We’d like to make sure those kids enter relatively [...]

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“Nudging” the Printer

Mayor Kathy Taylor announced that the city’s printers will now be set to two-sided printing by default, saving an estimated (and astounding!) $41,400 per year. This is a great example of what Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein call “nudges.” One well-known nudge is default enrollment into 401(k) programs, which can boost enrollment rates up to [...]

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Budget Blogging

President Obama released his budget for the 2010 fiscal year. The document is a kind of roadmap for the President’s initiatives over the next several years, but he’s left lots of room to Congress to fill in details. Anyway, I thought I’d put up some topics of potential interest to our readers: Early Childhood – [...]

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