Will Masters: Randomized Trials of Everyday Choices
Updated Monday, June 6, 2016
Randomized trials of everyday choices: A micro-lecture on frontiers of research at the Friedman School, explaining how we have started using economic incentives and nudges to randomize behaviors that occur at home in daily life. These everyday choices cannot normally be tested in clinical trials, but include many of the most important actions people can take to improve nutrition and health. The example discussed here is weighing yourself at home every day. Does that help people lose weight? The answer: yes, for those who stick with it. But that's just a pilot result. This same research technique can be used for many future trials.
Will Masters is a professor at Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, with a secondary appointment in Tufts University's Department of Economics. His research uses economic methods to inform and improve the food system, especially in developing countries.