Regulating for integration by behavioral design: An evidence‐based approach for culturally responsive regulation

Abstract

Democratic societies around the world face the challenge of strengthening social integration against a multitude of cultural and ethnic differences. Yet common regulations for integration – from cultural assimilation policies to general education programs – encounter objection, noncompliance, and even backlash among the very groups that the regulator strives to integrate into society. The article analyzes this challenge from a behavioral perspective, drawing on rich qualitative and experimental evidence in the context of the Israeli core curriculum regulation. The findings elucidate the joint role of identity threat and framing effects in spurring noncompliance and hindering the implementation of the regulation. I then design and test a behavioral intervention that is found to significantly increase support for the regulation, particularly among its strongest opponents. These results propose new paths to improve the regulation for integration and strengthen trust and cooperation in conflicted societies. More broadly, the project expands the framework of responsive regulation to address additional rule‐takers and motivations for noncompliance and advances the application of behavioral research to the design of regulation.

Behavioral responsive regulation: Bringing together responsive regulation and behavioral public policy

“…Predictably enough, BPP and RR also have mutual blind spots. For example, they do not pay sufficient attention to the role of culture and identity in shaping the relationship between individuals and governments, although several studies have showed that these factors may influence compliance substantially (e.g., Wenzel 2007; Gobena & Van Dijke 2017; Barak‐Corren 2021). In addition, both theories assume competent and benevolent regulators.…”

“…Moreover, expanding the assumptions regarding the regulatees and how they behave can inspire researchers to address types of regulatees that have rarely been included in BPP and RR studies, such as cultural and religious groups (Coleman & Freeman 1997; Barak‐Corren 2021; but see the adaptation of the enforcement pyramid to East Timor described in Job et al . 2007).…”

“…Braithwaite & Hong 2015). Finally, RR is not attentive enough to regulatees' culture and identity and how these influence their relationship with regulators (Wenzel 2007;Barak-Corren 2021). These practical concerns are tied to a larger problem: the lack of sufficient empirical evidence on RR's effectiveness (Mendeloff 1993;van der Heijden 2021).…”

“…The findingswhich may differ from one field of regulation to another, and from one regulation to anothercan help regulators adjust their response to achieve the goals of regulation more fully than if they had followed either approach on its own. Moreover, expanding the assumptions regarding the regulatees and how they behave can inspire researchers to address types of regulatees that have rarely been included in BPP and RR studies, such as cultural and religious groups (Coleman & Freeman 1997;Barak-Corren 2021; but see the adaptation of the enforcement pyramid to East Timor described in Job et al 2007). This is also an opportunity for regulation scholars to grapple with the standing challenge of individual differences and how these differences interact with situational differences to create substantial heterogeneity in the acceptance of and compliance with regulation (Feldman 2011, p. 340;Feldman 2018, p. 86).…”

“…Another line of critique claims that RR assumes that regulators can convey clear and consistent messages to regulatees on an ongoing basis, whereas the reality of many national and transnational regulators with different goals is messy, with conflicting messages (Abbott & Snidal 2013; Grabosky 2013) and a lack of sufficient interaction with regulatees (J. Braithwaite & Hong 2015). Finally, RR is not attentive enough to regulatees' culture and identity and how these influence their relationship with regulators (Wenzel 2007; Barak‐Corren 2021). These practical concerns are tied to a larger problem: the lack of sufficient empirical evidence on RR's effectiveness (Mendeloff 1993; van der Heijden 2021).…”