Steven D. Levitt Quote
So there is little doubt that financial incentives work well, even if the outcome is undesirable. Consider a 2011 traffic accident in the Chinese city of Foshan. A two-year-old girl, walking through an outdoor market, was hit by a van. The driver stopped as the girl’s body slid beneath the vehicle. But he didn’t get out to help. After a pause, he drove away, running over the body again. The girl later died. The driver eventually turned himself in to the police. A recording that was widely reported to be a phone call with the driver was broadcast on the news. If she is dead, he explained, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan—roughly $3,200. But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan.
So there is little doubt that financial incentives work well, even if the outcome is undesirable. Consider a 2011 traffic accident in the Chinese city of Foshan. A two-year-old girl, walking through an outdoor market, was hit by a van. The driver stopped as the girl’s body slid beneath the vehicle. But he didn’t get out to help. After a pause, he drove away, running over the body again. The girl later died. The driver eventually turned himself in to the police. A recording that was widely reported to be a phone call with the driver was broadcast on the news. If she is dead, he explained, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan—roughly $3,200. But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan.
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