Research Associate
El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy
BSc (University of Bochum), MSc (University of Mannheim), PhD (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
My research interests include applied behavioural insights and behavioural public administration; developing behavioural interventions for public policy and policy decision-making.
Professional experience
Malte Dewies is a research associate with the El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy. A psychologist by training, with experience in public sector engagement and the use of behavioural insights for public policy, his research uses interdisciplinary approaches and embraces mixed methods designs.
Previous appointments
Prior to joining Cambridge Judge Business School and the El-Erian Institute, Malte Dewies obtained his PhD at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Publications
Selected publications
- Dewies, M., De-Wit, L. and Reisch, L.A. (2026) “Assumptions about behaviour influence the policy preferences of public officials.” Public Management Review (DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2025.2570408) (published online Oct 2025)
- Dewies, M. and Reisch, L.A. (2026) “META BI: a tool for describing behavioural interventions.” Behavioural Public Policy (DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2025.10015) (published online Sep 2025)
- Dewies, M., Schop-Etman, A., Merkelbach, I., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2025) “Call first, pay later: stimulating debtors to contact their creditors improves debt collection in the context of financial scarcity.” Behavioural Public Policy, 9(1): 88-105 (DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2022.7)
- Dewies, M., Denktaş, S., Giel, L., Noordzij, G. and Merkelbach, I. (2022) “Applying behavioural insights to public policy: an example from Rotterdam.” Global Implementation Research and Applications, 2: 53–66 (DOI: 10.1007/s43477-022-00036-5)
- Dewies, M., Merkelbach, I., van der Scheer, W.K., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2022) “Do you consider human behaviour to be stable or malleable? Your answer can influence your preferences for policy instruments.” Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 5(1): 1-9 (DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.51.276)
- Dewies, M., Schop-Etman, A., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2022) “Nudging is ineffective when attitudes are unsupportive: an example from a natural field experiment.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 43(4): 213-225 (DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2021.1917412)
Journal articles
- Dewies, M., De-Wit, L. and Reisch, L.A. (2026) “Assumptions about behaviour influence the policy preferences of public officials.” Public Management Review (DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2025.2570408) (published online Oct 2025)
- Dewies, M. and Reisch, L.A. (2026) “META BI: a tool for describing behavioural interventions.” Behavioural Public Policy (DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2025.10015) (published online Sep 2025)
- Kaiser, M., Dewies, M., Lin, D., Sunstein, C.R. and Reisch, L.A. (2026) “Socioeconomic status mostly outweighs psychological factors in predicting individual ecological footprints.” Communications Earth and Environment (DOI: 10.1038/s43247-026-03521-z) (published online Apr 2026)
- Tanase, L.-M., Reisch, L.A., Dewies, M. and De-Wit, L. (2026) “Perception gaps in British Parliament reveal a possible pathway to stronger climate policy action.” Communications Sustainability (forthcoming)
- Dewies, M., Schop-Etman, A., Merkelbach, I., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2025) “Call first, pay later: stimulating debtors to contact their creditors improves debt collection in the context of financial scarcity.” Behavioural Public Policy, 9(1): 88-105 (DOI: 10.1017/bpp.2022.7)
- Dewies, M., Denktaş, S., Giel, L., Noordzij, G. and Merkelbach, I. (2022) “Applying behavioural insights to public policy: an example from Rotterdam.” Global Implementation Research and Applications, 2: 53–66 (DOI: 10.1007/s43477-022-00036-5)
- Dewies, M., Merkelbach, I., van der Scheer, W.K., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2022) “Do you consider human behaviour to be stable or malleable? Your answer can influence your preferences for policy instruments.” Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 5(1): 1-9 (DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.51.276)
- Dewies, M., Schop-Etman, A., Rohde, K.I.M. and Denktaş, S. (2022) “Nudging is ineffective when attitudes are unsupportive: an example from a natural field experiment.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 43(4): 213-225 (DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2021.1917412)
- Merkelbach, I., Dewies, M. and Denktaş, S. (2021) “Committing to keep clean: nudging complements standard policy measures to reduce illegal urban garbage disposal in a neighborhood with high levels of social cohesion.” Frontiers in Psychology, 12: 660410 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660410)
News and insights
Behavioural economics
How common language on nudging can better steer behaviour
A lack of shared terminology has limited the application of behavioural interventions across disciplines. A holistic classification system developed at the El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School aims to help practitioners and academics alike.
Cambridge Judge Business School collaborated with the Tony Cowling Foundation to host an event for practitioners and academics to explore a shared interest in market research.