The effect of incentives and procedure simplification in policy implementation: evidence from a survey experiment on waste sorting

To encourage residents to sort their waste, governments can use incentives such as cash rewards or social reinforcement. The effect of such incentives remains unclear, and residents often are deterred by the complexity of procedures to obtain their rewards. Based on positive reinforcement theory and using a survey experiment, we study the effect of types and procedures of incentives on waste sorting behavioural intentions in a large Chinese city. We find that cash incentives have a stronger effect on waste sorting behavioural intentions than incentives based on social reinforcement such as a certificate of merit. Cash-based incentives also have a stronger effect on perceived probability to obtain the incentive and on perceptions of procedure difficulty. More simple procedures to obtain the incentive does not seem to have an effect on waste sorting behavioural intentions, neither direct nor in an interaction. However, the simplification of the procedure through which an incentive can be obtained is positively correlated with perceived probability to obtain the incentive.