Short showWhen Rewards Backfire
Discover how good intentions pave the road to disaster when performance metrics hijack human behavior. From healthcare to corporate boardrooms, this series explores the hidden economics and psychology behind systems that encourage cheating and corruption. Learn why measuring the wrong things leads to unintended consequences in business and society.
Latest drops:
Burning Diesel to Fake Solar Power
How a green energy policy accidentally funded pollution
The Free T-Shirt That Broke Open Source
Why incentivizing digital contributions backfired.
The Day It Paid to Delay Birth
A cash bonus for newborns created a strange medical frenzy.
The Charity Starvation Trap
How trying to maximize your donation's impact can backfire.
The Plastic Bag Paradox
When a simple green policy creates a bigger mess.
A Life Sentence for Loose Change
A tough-on-crime policy with disastrous results.
Made to Order, Left to Rot
How a birth mandate created a generation of orphans.
The Act That Left Children Behind
How a single test score narrowed American schooling.
When Good Intentions Go Up in Flames
Throwing money at a problem created a monster.
Saving Fish by Wasting Them
A law to protect marine life had a deadly side effect.