Behavioral Science and COVID-19 An Interactive Solutions Guide for Better Policy Design

This guide explores how policymakers can use behavioural science to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and what behavioural scientists have learned since its onset. It summarizes interventions and their effectiveness to:

• reduce the spread of COVID-19;
• encourage people to get vaccinated; and
• address misinformation and fake news.

The guide is based on a review of existing literature, including published peer-reviewed journal articles, grey literature, and research conducted by the World Bank. It is not meant to be all-inclusive or exhaustive, but rather to provide a range of ideas of what has been tried, with the aim of guiding policymakers in different contexts with a set of potential evidence-based solutions that deal with different aspects of COVID-19 and could be adapted for their settings.