#801 - George Mack - 13 Life-Changing Ideas You’ve Never Heard Of
Modern Wisdom
Understanding Incentives and their Impact on Behavior
Changing the incentive structure can drastically alter behavior and outcomes. In the historical context of transporting prisoners, payment for boarding versus payment for arrival led to a significant difference in survival rates. Initially, with payment made for boarding, there was little concern for the well-being of the prisoners, resulting in a high mortality rate during the voyage. However, once payment was tied to successful arrival in Australia, the motivation to ensure the prisoners' safety increased, leading to a remarkable improvement in survival rates. This underscores the critical importance of understanding how incentives influence actions and highlights that factors like effective incentives can outweigh the value of hard work or busyness in achieving desired results.
