Getting Information to Consumers: How to Inform Their Choices Effectively

Information disclosure policies influence nearly every consumer domain. Disclosure research across various sectors, particularly finance and nutrition, demonstrates how policymakers can enhance consumer decision-making and promote a fair marketplace. In particular, five key considerations make policies more effective: understanding existing consumer preferences, capturing and maintaining consumer attention, providing actionable knowledge, anticipating firm responses, and recognizing potential perverse effects of information provision. An overarching “theory of change” organizes these considerations and other steps to reveal how disclosure policy can promote consumer well-being. Implementing disclosure policies using these psychological and behavioral insights will maximize their effectiveness.