Ariel Tikotsky

Ariel Tikotsky is a Research Affiliate at the Social Policy Institute, where he studies the Saving for Every Child Program in Israel. This universal Child Development Accounts (CDA) program was established in 2017 by the Israeli government, and our research, in partnership with the Israeli National Insurance Institute (NII) aims to enhance it, using insights from behavioral economics. Before this, Ariel co-managed the SPI’s Nudgeathon program with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Israel and was involved in some of its studies.

Ariel earned his Ph.D. in behavioral economics from the Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where he also co-founded the Israeli government’s practical workshops on behavioral economics (Nudgeathons). These large-scale longitudinal workshops harnessed behavioral insights to mitigate concrete policy challenges, and won the second prize in the Israeli government’s innovation contest for 2016. 

In his off-time, Ariel enjoys swimming, mountain bike riding, reading and listening to podcasts.