The hidden persuaders

A leaked memo suggests schools are to be graded by Ofsted on their success in tackling teenage pregnancy. Meanwhile, the police will be asked to arrest under-18s who are persistently caught drinking alcohol. What both these policies have in common is a lack of practicality - it is not clear how schools can prevent teenagers having sex, or how the police can effectively monitor children's drinking, or indeed what 'persistent' actually means in this context. The latest policy of this kind to emerge is a prime ministerial drive to increase social mobility. 'Hard-to-reach' parents in deprived areas will be rewarded with child development grants worth up to L200 to perform basic tasks, such as ensuring their young children are booked in to receive vaccinations. This policy fails for several reasons. First, the payments will act as a disincentive to parents to perform these tasks - why organize health check-ups for your baby on your own initiative, if the government will pay you to do so? Second, a sense of unfairness will be keenly felt by those struggling, low-income parents who have been conscientious enough to arrange such care already. Third, it presumes that parents will make decisions based purely on some kind of cost-benefit analysis. This ignores the reality of how people behave and make decisions, and the underlying reasons why they act or fail to.