The problem with decision-making in an institutional setting is that it is often more important for one's reputation and job security to appear to be logical than it is to be truly effective. Indeed, a far lower burden of proof is applied to ideas and suggestions that accord with simple economic axioms than to those that are oblique, counterintuitive or employ second-order thinking. Hence, the best new ideas generated by behavioural science will and should often lie outside the bureaucrat's natural comfort zone; any difficulties encountered by behavioural scientists should not surprise us: like the sting of an antiseptic, they are proof that the treatment is working.

This article discusses some of the political barriers to the adaption of behavioural approaches to public policy. It contrasts the increasing acceptance of behavioural ideas in the civil service with the limited enthusiasm displayed, so far, by politicians. It also suggests that more attention should be focused on the impact of those affected by behavioural initiatives.

While behavioral public policy remains underutilized in rich countries relative to its potential impact, the required infrastructure for diagnosing behavioral bottlenecks and the autonomy to act on those diagnoses are even less common in developing countries. At the World Bank, the Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD) aims to promote the systematic use of behaviorally informed tools in development policies and projects, institutionalize the use of behavioral science in development organizations and governments, provide evidence on scaled and sustainable behavioral solutions, and generate more and better behavioral data. By focusing on thorough diagnosis and ongoing adaptation, we aim to create impactful, behaviorally informed interventions in complex, resource-constrained settings. While Sanders, Snijders and Hallsworth (2018) raise valuable points about the implications for impactful behavioral public policy, for those working in developing countries, issues of replication and scale come with unique contextual challenges.