Over the years, we’ve learned a lot about how humans are motivated.
Sometimes humans are encouraged to do bad things. More often, we are encouraged to do things that make other people a lot of money.
Often, we are not encouraged to act in our own best interest.
Money is a good incentive. Many people choose to work less-than-ideal jobs if they can make decent money. Peer pressure can be a good incentive. It depends on how well our peers know and respect us! Our work colleagues can challenge us to up our game or to drink too much during a happy hour.
An example I like has to do with default actions for 401k plans. We are more likely to invest well when we have to opt out rather than opt in. Because humans are lazy. I think I read about this in Nudge, an excellent book by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein.
Wanting to win may motivate us to play sports. Wanting fame may entice us to start a YouTube channel. The list goes on and on.
Here are a few incentives I would like to see updated.
Many physics majors who attend Ivy League schools end up getting software and investing jobs on Wall Street. It pays better than going to graduate school, getting a post-doc, and doing physics research. Society would benefit by increasing funding for students who want to do more physics research.
Teaching is a noble profession. Increasing funding for teachers would allow more great teachers to stay in the classroom.
It’s not easy to get around Denver or Los Angeles without a car. These cities and others would benefit from better public transportation. Increasing funding for this and making parking more expensive would help.
Focus on updating incentives when you see behaviors in need of change.
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