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Incentives and Habit Formation in Health Screenings: Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study

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  • Damon Jones
  • David Molitor
  • Julian Reif

Abstract

We study habit formation in annual biometric health screenings using a field experiment that randomly assigned financial incentives to 4,799 employees over three years. Completing the first screening raised subsequent screenings by 32.4-36.0 percentage points (84%-90%) annually. Habit formation was similar whether employees were offered screenings as part of a comprehensive wellness program or just screenings alone, suggesting such habits can develop without frequent interactions. We rule out inattention as an explanation, using a subsample assigned more salient incentives. The long-run effect stems from the initial decision to participate, indicating a habit formation process with a one-shot mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Damon Jones & David Molitor & Julian Reif, 2024. "Incentives and Habit Formation in Health Screenings: Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study," NBER Working Papers 32745, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32745
    Note: AG EH PE
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pol Campos-Mercade & Armando N. Meier & Stephan Meier & Devin G. Pope & Florian H. Schneider & Erik Wengström, 2024. "Incentives to Vaccinate," NBER Working Papers 32899, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Anikó Bíró & Péter Elek, 2024. "Firm quality and health maintenance," IFS Working Papers W24/58, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Pol Campos-Mercade & Armando N. Meier & Stephan Meier & Devin Pope & Florian H. Schneider & Erik Wengstroem, 2025. "Incentives to Vaccinate," CEBI working paper series 24-15, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H0 - Public Economics - - General
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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