Regulation is very much informed by behavioral economics.
You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible.
The possibility of remedying imprudent actions is commonly an inducement to commit them.
The secret of every durable ... social system is the recasting of 'functional prerequisites' into behavioral motives for actors.
Culture matters. Of course, if physicians are rewarded or penalized for their service and results, the culture will change. But the key values we doctors are being pressed to embrace are humility, teamwork, and discipline.
A truly moral nation enacts policies that encourage personal responsibility and discourage self-destructive behavior by not subsidizing people who live irresponsibly and make poor choices.
The basic idea that incentives can be used to motivate behavior is a powerful one. It works for employees, and it has a clear place in parenting, as anyone who has tried to potty-train a recalcitrant toddler with sticker rewards knows.
You've got to change incentives for good behavior as opposed to just disincentivizing bad behavior.
Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.
I think someone should design exercise machines that reward people with sex at the end of their workouts, because people will perform superhuman feats for even the faint hope of that.
