World Banks World Development Report offers this years edition, titled Mind,

Society, and Behavior, reflects the growing attention being given to human
decision-making in development. It combines the fact of design thinking and
behavioral economics but it is narrow on context and broader on the perspectives it
takes. The report is framed in three dimensions: Thinking automatically, Thinking
socially, and Thinking with mental models. Thinking automatically articulates how
thinking and decision-making shortcuts can lead us to optimal choices. Thinking
socially discusses the impact of social norms, expectations, and cooperation in our
decision-making. Finally, thinking with mental models refers to the framing and
categories we bring to our decisions.
The central idea is that paying attention to how humans think (the processes of
mind) and how history and context shape thinking (the influence of society) can
improve the design and implementation of development policies and interventions
that target human choice and action (behavior).The report sets out to bring
together the latest thinking on neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology,
behavioral economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology. It uses this
interdisciplinary aspect to explain the decisions that individuals make in many
different areas of development, from savings, investment and energy consumption
to health, and child education. It also seeks to better understand collective
behaviours develop and become institutionalized in groups and societies
Through the three frameworks, the report establishes and explores the idea that
humans are not always rational decision-makers. Our individual choices, in all their
complexity, involve shortcuts and social dimensions that were only starting to
understand.This is critical to society because the outcomes of individual choices
have social effects. This fact often gets lost to the policies, markets, or historical
forces that are considered more consequential to development outcomes. With
Mind, Society, and Behavior, the World Bank presents the case for elevating
individuals decisions to the same level of importance.
The World Development Report focuses on the discipline of behavioral economics,
which bring the human centered aspect in it. Both design and behavioral economics
are increasingly popular approaches for recognizing the role of human choices at
the crux of many development problems. There are important connections between
these disciplines. The insights of behavioral economics can inform design choices.
The World Development Report offers a few of these insights, noting the
accumulating evidence in favor of specific practices, such as regular text message
reminders to promote savings.
However, the two methods are not in complete alignment. Behavioral economics
has a tendency to universalize, drawing insights from a particular context and
applying them broadly
The Report provides literally examples of interventions - field experiments and world
development. In essence, the Report provides scores of brief summaries of studies
that document interesting and apparently successful interventions. And herein lies
the major value of this Report.

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It is argued, typically assume people make rational choices, i.e., they carefully
weigh choices, consider all readily available information, and make decisions
individually. It is noted that that is not the way people actually make decisions.
Behavioral economists here under-stood to be economists enlightened by
psychological insights provide hence a richer understanding of how people
actually think and behave: People think automatically (We tend to think fast and
rely on mental shortcuts) and socially We cooperate, as long as others do the
same, and rely on social networks and norms), and think with mental models that
their automatic and social thinking made them pick up. Which, in turn, motivates
the plea for numerous policy interventions from simplified information presentation,
to application of social pressure, and derailing of mental models. This tension
doesnt mean the methods are in opposition. In fact, the combination of the two
could be formidable.
The report synthesizes evidence from many different disciplines and settings,
qualitative and quantitative, primary and secondary, and demonstrates the
relevance of its core arguments across the whole of the development landscape. As
such, it presents a solid intellectual essence about the need for engaging with the
issues of mind, behavior, and culture in a systematic and through way. And it puts
these forward as a direct and coherent alternative to the assumptions that still
dominate much of development economics.
Thus the report stresses on pushing the sector toward better thinking and practice.
Recognizing the importance of human biases and choices means bringing in a
variety of human-centered analytical methods, such as behavioral economics and
design, as well as changing our management, funding, and organizational practices
to be more adaptive.