The recent operation “without discount”, conducted by and by CGU, opened an old and invisible problem: between 2019 and 2024, almost always without clear authorization. Audit revealed that 97% of respondents denied having consented to the charges. The cause behind it is well known in behavioral economy: the power of standard choice.
When well designed, automatic choice can stimulate positive behaviors such as complementary, or adherence to. Johnson and Goldstein show that countries where organ donation is automatic have significantly higher adhesion than those in which an active registration is required. The standard choice saves lives in these cases.
However, the same mechanism may lead to harmful decisions if transparency is lacking and incentive to inertia. A meta-analysis led by Jachimowicz confirms that automatic choices have a strong impact precisely when there is inequality of information, low clarity of alternatives or difficulty in changing the initial decision.
This is exactly what happened in the case of the INSS. , without proper information. The system made reactions difficult, hiding options on unnamer digital platforms and creating disproportionate bureaucracy to cancel $ 30 or $ 40 charges.
This logic is not unique to the public sector. Gabaix and Laibson have studied markets where important attributes remain hidden to the consumer until the time of charge, such as bank fees or printer cartridges. In such cases, companies have no interest in revealing hidden costs, as most consumers do not realize or react.
Shopping sites also adopt similar strategies, according to Mathur and colleagues. In more than 11,000 pages, practices such as hiding cancellation buttons or false urgent messages were detected, making it difficult to protect the consumer and easy to benefit the company.
These strategies take advantage of a natural trend: people often accept pre-selected options for tiredness, excess information or because changing requires effort. Small changes in the presentation of choices can influence more than educational campaigns or financial incentives.
Therefore, automatic public policies should always ensure clarity, ease of reversal and evident public benefit. Automatic adhesion programs Renewable energy or complementary retirement are positive examples when there is transparency.
The problem arises when the standard choice is used to confuse or hinder people’s action, as happened in the INSS. The suspension of the agreements was correct but late. You need to review authorization criteria, ensure frequent revisions and create mechanisms in which the beneficiary really has control. The mechanism that expands freedom can also reduce it, if poorly used. The crucial difference is in the intention and transparency of those who draw the system.
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