Bright Lines, Risk Beliefs, and Risk Avoidance: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in Bangladesh

This paper provides evidence on the effects of risk presentation on health behaviors using data from a cluster randomized controlled trial in risk presentation regarding arsenic in drinking water in Araihazar district of Bangladesh. The intervention was designed to test whether highlighting the existence of a gradient in arsenic risk—exposure risk increases with the level of arsenic and lower arsenic exposure is always better—led to better choices relative to “bright line” information provision that focuses on whether the arsenic level is above or below the country standard of 50 parts per billion (ppb).

Author(s): Lori Bennear, Alessandro Tarozzi, Alexander Pfaff, H.B. Soumya, Kazi Matin Ahmed, and Alexander van Geen

Published: October 2010

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