2025-08 Behavioral insights for policy design in Central Asia
Authors: Dr. Bekzod Zakirov, Akhtem Useinov
KEY MESSAGE
Mainstream economics assumes rational decision-making, but in reality, human choices are often shaped by biases, emotions, and social influences.
Traditional policy tools (e.g., tax incentives, regulations, awareness campaigns) can be ineffective if they ignore these behavioral factors.
Behavioral Insights (BI) can enhance traditional policy instruments by aligning interventions with actual human behavior.
Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, can improve policy outcomes by adopting evidence-based, behaviorally informed policy design.
The paper introduces fundamentals of BI, gives global examples, and offers recommendations for applying BI in Uzbekistan’s policy development.
Recommended citation:
Zakirov, B. and Useinov, A. (2025) ‘Behavioral insights for policy design in Central Asia’, MPRA Paper 125051, University Library of Munich. Available at https://doi.org/10.70735/fuhj5149
