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:
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.
Saved for a Life of Labor
When the incentive for adoption was exploitation.
Corrupted by the List
How a quest for prestige harms the students it should serve.
The Law That Killed by Saving
How a well-meaning rule led to thousands of deaths.
The Peril of Perfect Kidneys
A fairer system is leading to thousands of discarded organs.
To Save The Animals, We Destroy Their Homes
How a good law created a perverse incentive.
Saving the Man by Killing the Indian
The perverse logic of destroying a culture to 'help' it.