Institutionalizing Nudging: The Case for a Behavioural Public Policy Unit in Portugal | Institucionalizando o Nudging: A Necessidade de uma Unidade de Políticas Públicas Comportamentais em Portugal

Abstract

The rapid global diffusion of behavioural public policy has transformed nudging from an experimental tool into a structured governance approach in several OECD countries. Yet the institutional conditions required for embedding behavioural insights within different administrative traditions remain underexplored. This article examines the case for establishing a behavioural insights unit in Portugal, a late adopter operating within a legalistic and path-dependent administrative system. Drawing on institutional theory, policy capacity literature, and comparative evidence from existing behavioural units, the article develops a context-sensitive design proposal anchored in the centre of government. Rather than advocating institutional transplantation, it advances an incremental layering strategy that integrates behavioural diagnostics, experimental evaluation, and capacity-building functions within existing governance structures. The analysis emphasizes that effectiveness, legitimacy, and institutional fit are interdependent dimensions of sustainable behavioural governance. Beyond the Portuguese case, the article contributes to theoretical debates on the institutionalization of behavioural public policy in late-adopting administrative systems and highlights the importance of democratic embedding in the design of behavioural governance instruments.