Federico Atzori, Ph.D.

This paper examines how different framings of information about social norms affect tax compliance. We test how people respond to information about what others do and what others believe should be done. In a laboratory experiment with voluntary income reporting, participants received messages describing honest or dishonest behavior, or approval or disapproval of tax evasion. The results show that the effects of these messages depend heavily on how they are framed. A permissive message suggesting that tax evasion can sometimes be acceptable was associated with more evasion. Even a seemingly positive message stating that most people reported their income honestly appeared to backfire, although this result was less consistent. The other messages had little effect. For tax authorities, social-norm messages should not be treated as a simple, low-risk way to improve compliance. Their content and likely interpretation should be tested carefully before implementation, as messages that inadvertently legitimize non-compliance may weaken rather than strengthen tax compliance.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping production processes, professions, and domains traditionally regarded as uniquely human, such as art and creativity. This study examines the relationships among AI, creativity, and personality traits, focusing on how individual differences shape perceptions, attitudes, and AI use. A total of 260 participants completed a questionnaire assessing AI use and perceptions, personality traits, and creativity through the Divergent Association Task, Alternative Uses Task, and a constrained narrative task. Cluster analysis identifies four distinct attitudinal profiles: Enthusiasts, Alarmed, Critics, and Cautious, differing in trust, perceived risks, and frequency of AI use. Enthusiasts and Cautious participants display higher average creativity scores than Alarmed or Critics, although differences are generally modest and exploratory. Openness to Experience and Agreeableness emerge as key predictors of profile membership: Openness is positively associated with Enthusiast and Cautious profiles relative to Alarmed, whereas higher Agreeableness is associated with more cautious or risk-averse perceptions. Overall, higher creativity tends to co-occur with curiosity and critical reflection, consistent with the hypothesis that mindful, selective engagement with AI may be more conducive to creative performance than full automation.

Sludge–those excessive frictions that slow or distort administrative processes–has become a central concern in Behavioural Public Administration, yet existing definitions and audit models remain conceptually vague and difficult to operationalize. Building on the literature on heuristics, biases, and transaction costs, this paper proposes a more precise and generalizable framework for identifying and measuring sludge within public organizations. After clarifying its relationship with related concepts such as ordeal mechanisms, red tape, and administrative burden, the paper connects sludge to the classic typology of transaction costs, expanding it with an additional category of red-tape costs. It then introduces a new Sludge Audit Model that decomposes processes into measurable sub-actions, quantifies time, direct costs, psychological costs, and opportunity costs, and identifies which steps can be simplified, digitized, or eliminated without reducing efficiency. The model aims to provide public administrations with a practical and scalable tool to diagnose frictions and prioritize interventions that improve administrative effectiveness.