Abstract

Finding ways to get consumers engaged in markets is a major current topic of debate. This article examines the important role consumer engagement plays in driving effective competition in markets. It then considers some key categories of intervention which can enhance consumer engagement, with a focus on the various roles that disclosure can play. Recent examples are provided from the UK, where many such engagement measures have been implemented. The article emphasises the importance, when policy-makers are designing such interventions, of understanding how real consumers truly behave. It also highlights the relevance to competitive outcomes of two further concepts: relative salience and relative consumer engagement. Finally, the article draws on both the successes and the failures of past interventions to identify some lessons for policy-makers when stepping into this area.

Details: CCP working paper 18-13, UEA, Norwich. 

Published in Behavioral Public Policy (2019).

Author:  Amelia Fletcher