IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v201y2026ics0305750x2500395x.html

A behavioral approach to social security compliance targeting self-employed workers in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Bosch, Mariano
  • Silva, Danilo
  • Villa, Juan M.

Abstract

This paper examines a large-scale behavioral intervention to boost social security compliance among self-employed workers. In 2014, the Brazilian Ministry of Social Security gradually delivered mailed booklets to nearly 3 million self-employed workers, reminding them of their obligation to contribute to social security. We find that sending the booklet increased payments by 15 percent and compliance rates by 7 percentage points. This effect is concentrated in the delivery month and fades after three months, a pattern of action and backsliding. Heterogeneity in effects suggests that the impact was stronger in wealthier municipalities, consistent with the prepayment of multiple contributions and pointing to administrative simplification as the likely dominant mechanism. Our results highlight the potential of behavioral interventions to increase social security compliance in developing countries, particularly among the self-employed.

Suggested Citation

  • Bosch, Mariano & Silva, Danilo & Villa, Juan M., 2026. "A behavioral approach to social security compliance targeting self-employed workers in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:201:y:2026:i:c:s0305750x2500395x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107309
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X2500395X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107309?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dean Karlan & Margaret McConnell & Sendhil Mullainathan & Jonathan Zinman, 2016. "Getting to the Top of Mind: How Reminders Increase Saving," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(12), pages 3393-3411, December.
    2. John Beshears & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian, 2018. "Behavioral Household Finance," NBER Working Papers 24854, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. García, Jesús María & Vila, José, 2020. "Financial literacy is not enough: The role of nudging toward adequate long-term saving behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 472-477.
    4. Kast, Felipe & Meier, Stephan & Pomeranz, Dina, 2018. "Saving more in groups: Field experimental evidence from Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 275-294.
    5. Thaler, Richard H & Shefrin, H M, 1981. "An Economic Theory of Self-Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(2), pages 392-406, April.
    6. Goda, Gopi Shah & Levy, Matthew R. & Manchester, Colleen Flaherty & Sojourner, Aaron & Tasoff, Joshua, 2020. "Who is a passive saver under opt-in and auto-enrollment?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 301-321.
    7. Andrieş, Alin Marius & Walker, Sarah, 2023. "When the message hurts: The unintended impacts of nudges on saving," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 439-456.
    8. John Beshears & James Choi & David Laibson & Peter Maxted, 2022. "Present Bias Causes and Then Dissipates Auto-enrollment Savings Effects," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 112, pages 136-141, May.
    9. Joshua Blumenstock & Michael Callen & Tarek Ghani, 2018. "Why Do Defaults Affect Behavior? Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(10), pages 2868-2901, October.
    10. Rocha, Rudi & Ulyssea, Gabriel & Rachter, Laísa, 2018. "Do lower taxes reduce informality? Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 28-49.
    11. Torm, Nina & Oehme, Marty, 2024. "Social protection and formalization in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of the literature," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    12. Christopher R. Knittel & Samuel Stolper, 2021. "Machine Learning about Treatment Effect Heterogeneity: The Case of Household Energy Use," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 440-444, May.
    13. Brigitte C. Madrian, 2012. "Matching Contributions and Savings Outcomes: A Behavioral Economics Perspective," NBER Working Papers 18220, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Kyle Hyndman & Alberto Bisin, 2022. "Procrastination, self-imposed deadlines and other commitment devices," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 74(3), pages 871-897, October.
    15. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve & Clément Imbert & Johannes Spinnewijn & Teodora Tsankova & Maarten Luts, 2021. "How to Improve Tax Compliance? Evidence from Population-Wide Experiments in Belgium," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(5), pages 1425-1463.
    16. Mariano Bosch & Ángel Melguizo & Carmen Pagés, 2013. "Better Pensions, Better Jobs: Towards Universal Coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 82359, February.
    17. Miyoung Lee & Daehwan Kim, 2022. "Nudging down household electricity usage during peak hours with small monetary rewards," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(5), pages 853-869, August.
    18. Jonathan Roth & Pedro H. C. Sant’Anna, 2023. "Efficient Estimation for Staggered Rollout Designs," Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 669-709.
    19. Gabriel D. Carroll & James J. Choi & David Laibson & Brigitte C. Madrian & Andrew Metrick, 2009. "Optimal Defaults and Active Decisions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1639-1674.
    20. Hunt Allcott & Todd Rogers, 2014. "The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3003-3037, October.
    21. Emily Breza & Arun G. Chandrasekhar, 2019. "Social Networks, Reputation, and Commitment: Evidence From a Savings Monitors Experiment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(1), pages 175-216, January.
    22. repec:idb:brikps:462 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Gilbert, Ben & Graff Zivin, Joshua, 2014. "Dynamic salience with intermittent billing: Evidence from smart electricity meters," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 176-190.
    24. Jerzy Cieślik & André van Stel, 2024. "Solo self‐employment––Key policy challenges," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 759-792, July.
    25. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    26. Pascaline Dupas & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Savings Constraints and Microenterprise Development: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 163-192, January.
    27. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2023. "Simple approaches to nonlinear difference-in-differences with panel data," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 31-66.
    28. Bosch, Mariano & Melguizo, Ángel & Pagés, Carmen, 2013. "Better Pensions, Better Jobs: Towards Universal Coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 462, August.
    29. Simone Schaner, 2018. "The Persistent Power of Behavioral Change: Long-Run Impacts of Temporary Savings Subsidies for the Poor," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 67-100, July.
    30. Cunningham, Wendy V & Maloney, William F, 2001. "Heterogeneity among Mexico's Microenterprises: An Application of Factor and Cluster Analysis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(1), pages 131-156, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pierre Bachas & Paul Gertler & Sean Higgins & Enrique Seira, 2021. "How Debit Cards Enable the Poor to Save More," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(4), pages 1913-1957, August.
    2. Paul Christian & Steven Glover & Florence Kondylis & Valerie Mueller & Matteo Ruzzante & Astrid Zwager, 2022. "Do private consultants promote savings and investments in rural Mozambique?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(1), pages 22-36, January.
    3. Banerjee, Abhijit & Claudia, Martínez A. & Puentes, Esteban, 2025. "Better strategies for saving more: Evidence from three interventions in Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Emily Breza & Martin Kanz & Leora F. Klapper, 2020. "Learning to Navigate a New Financial Technology: Evidence from Payroll Accounts," NBER Working Papers 28249, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Damgaard, Mette Trier & Gravert, Christina, 2018. "The hidden costs of nudging: Experimental evidence from reminders in fundraising," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 15-26.
    6. Callen, Michael & Blumenstock, Joshua & Ghani, Tarek, 2016. "Mobile-izing Savings with Automatic Contributions: Experimental Evidence on Present Bias and Default Effects in Afghanistan," CEPR Discussion Papers 11400, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    7. Dur, Robert & Fleming, Dimitry & van Garderen, Marten & van Lent, Max, 2021. "A social norm nudge to save more: A field experiment at a retail bank," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Orazio Attanasio & Matthew Bird & Lina Cardona-Sosa & Pablo Lavado, 2019. "Freeing Financial Education via Tablets: Experimental Evidence from Colombia," NBER Working Papers 25929, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Villa, Juan Miguel & Fernandes, Danilo & Bosch, Mariano, 2015. "Nudging the Self-employed into Contributing to Social Security: Evidence from a Nationwide Quasi Experiment in Brazil," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7313, Inter-American Development Bank.
    10. Novella, Rafael & Rosas-Shady, David & Freund, Richard, 2024. "Is online job training for all? Experimental evidence on the effects of a Coursera program in Costa Rica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. C. Yiwei Zhang & Jeffrey Hemmeter & Judd B. Kessler & Robert D. Metcalfe & Robert Weathers, 2023. "Nudging Timely Wage Reporting: Field Experimental Evidence from the U.S. Supplemental Security Income Program," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1341-1353, March.
    12. Batista, Catia & Vicente, Pedro C., 2020. "Improving access to savings through mobile money: Experimental evidence from African smallholder farmers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    13. Steinert, Janina Isabel & Vasumati Satish, Rucha & Stips, Felix & Vollmer, Sebastian, 2022. "Commitment or concealment? Impacts and use of a portable saving device: Evidence from a field experiment in urban India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 367-398.
    14. Malodia, Suresh & Kaur, Puneet & Ractham, Peter & Sakashita, Mototaka & Dhir, Amandeep, 2022. "Why do people avoid and postpone the use of voice assistants for transactional purposes? A perspective from decision avoidance theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 605-618.
    15. Mukherjee, Sanghamitra Warrier & Bergquist, Lauren Falcao & Burke, Marshall & Miguel, Edward, 2024. "Unlocking the benefits of credit through saving," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    16. Spantig, Lisa, 2021. "Cash in hand and savings decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1206-1220.
    17. Antinyan, Armenak & Asatryan, Zareh, 2019. "Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 19-055, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    18. Kast, Felipe & Meier, Stephan & Pomeranz, Dina, 2018. "Saving more in groups: Field experimental evidence from Chile," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 275-294.
    19. Xavier Gabaix, 2017. "Behavioral Inattention," NBER Working Papers 24096, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Cassidy, Rachel & Fafchamps, Marcel, 2020. "Banker my neighbour: Matching and financial intermediation in savings groups," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:201:y:2026:i:c:s0305750x2500395x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.