Personalized Nudges Beat One‑Size‑Fits‑All

Large-scale reviews and unpublished nudge‑unit data show average nudging effects are much smaller than early published studies implied, and the literature is moving toward the claim that tailoring nudges to individual differences (context, demographics, prior behavior) produces reliably larger effects than generic defaults or messages. That reframes nudging from a cheap, universal tool into a calibration‑heavy governance technique that requires data, measurement, and institutional capacity. — If true, policy should shift from blanket ‘nudge’ campaigns toward investment in measurement, data infrastructure, and targeted interventions — changing budgets, privacy tradeoffs, and regulatory choices.