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A low-cost information nudge increases citizenship application rates among low-income immigrants

Author

Listed:
  • Michael Hotard

    (Stanford University)

  • Duncan Lawrence

    (Stanford University)

  • David D. Laitin

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University)

  • Jens Hainmueller

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University
    Stanford University)

Abstract

We show that an information nudge increased the rate of American citizenship applications among low-income immigrants eligible for a federal fee waiver. Approximately half of the 9 million naturalization-eligible immigrants qualify for a federal programme that waives the cost of the citizenship application for low-income individuals. However, take-up of this fee waiver programme remains low1–3. Here we use a randomized field experiment to test the effectiveness of a low-cost intervention (a ‘nudge’) that informed low-income immigrants about their eligibility for the fee waiver. We find that the information nudge increased the rate of citizenship applications by about 8.6 percentage points from 24.5% in the control group to 33.1% in the treatment group (ordinary least squares regression with robust standard errors (d.f. = 933); P = 0.015; 95% confidence interval ranged from 1.7 to 15.4 percentage points). We found no evidence that the nudge was less effective for poorer or less educated immigrants. These findings contribute to the literature that addresses the incomplete take-up of public benefits by low-income populations4–10 and suggest that lack of information is an important obstacle to citizenship among low-income immigrants who demonstrate an interest in naturalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Hotard & Duncan Lawrence & David D. Laitin & Jens Hainmueller, 2019. "A low-cost information nudge increases citizenship application rates among low-income immigrants," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 678-683, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:3:y:2019:i:7:d:10.1038_s41562-019-0572-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0572-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Yasenov, Vasil & Hotard, Michael & Lawrence, Duncan & Hainmueller, Jens & Laitin, David, 2019. "Standardizing the Fee Waiver Application Increased Naturalization Rates of Low-Income Immigrants," OSF Preprints acmdw, Center for Open Science.
    2. Urbina, Maria José & Moya, Andres & Rozo, Sandra V., 2023. "The Fine Line between Nudging and Nagging: Increasing Take-up Rates through Social Media Platforms," IZA Discussion Papers 16521, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Boun My, Kene & Nguyen-Van, Phu & Kim Cuong Pham, Thi & Stenger, Anne & Tiet, Tuyen & To-The, Nguyen, 2022. "Drivers of organic farming: Lab-in-the-field evidence of the role of social comparison and information nudge in networks in Vietnam," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Carlos Gomez-Gonzalez & Cornel Nesseler & Helmut M. Dietl, 2021. "Mapping discrimination in Europe through a field experiment in amateur sport," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.
    5. Alempaki, Despoina & Isoni, Andrea & Read, Daniel, 2023. "Tainted nudge," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    6. Chlond, Bettina & Goeschl, Timo & Kesternich, Martin & Werthschulte, Madeline, 2024. "Transporting behavioral insights to low-income households: A field experiment on energy efficiency investments," Working Papers 0755, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.

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