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Theme : incentives
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Stumbling and Mumbling: Should green cars get tax breaks?
Chris Dillow on some new research about 'image motivation':
'People act green in part because they want to be seen to be doing good - what Professor Ariely calls "image motivation." They buy the Toyota Prius in the hope others will think: "he's a good guy: he cares about the environment."
But if you give more tax breaks to the Prius, others will stop thinking this, and instead think: "that guy's just taking advantage of a tax break." The signalling virtue of the Prius therefore falls.'
from : duncanoleary
19th September 2007
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Yes, money talks ? but sometimes nobody?s listening | - Times Online
Chris Dillow on incentives. Argues: 'incentives matter at the margin. But the margin needn’t be particularly wide. And many people aren’t on it'. Some good references and examples.
from : duncanoleary
19th September 2007
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Learning and Skills Council survey finds just half of adults would spend £1,000 Adult Learning Grant
'Young adults have admitted they would spend their £1,000-a-year learning grant on going to the pub, rather than purchasing new books, a survey has revealed.
The ALG is intended to be a helping hand for adults who want to learn more skills, but have certain financial worries.
But 18% of the 1,600 adults surveyed by the LSC said they would spend their part of the £35m initiative on going out, rather than on learning materials such as books or computer equipment.'
from : duncanoleary
13th August 2007
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Irrational incandescence | Economist.com
Article discussing 'apparent irrationality' of people not changing their lightbulbs to (cheaper) energy-saving ones.
Suggests:
'One policy option is to decouple the utilities' revenues from the amount of electricity they sell. That gives them an incentive to increase the efficiency of power usage rather than to produce
from : duncanoleary
15th June 2007
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Dizzy Blog: Incentives vs coercion
'There is no incentive present when you use tax to punish people into changing their ways. Genuine incentives do not use negativity (in this case financial pain) as a means to an end. Attempting to draw a distinction between increased tax and incentives is like arguing in favour of torture because it provides an incentive to talk. Incentives are positive benefits that are acheived from a neutral status-quo position.'
from : duncanoleary
1st May 2007
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Recycling taxes - what a load of rubbish | Dt Opinion | Opinion | Telegraph
Argues for incentives over penalties to avoid unintended consequences:
'Taxes and penalties invariably fail to deliver what the politicians imagine they will, whereas more of us respond positively to an incentive. It is about time that politicians, instead of always reaching for the fiscal stick, recognised the greater potential of the carrot'
from : duncanoleary
1st May 2007
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James Harkin on Incentivisation
"If selective incentives are the cornerstones of modern life, that is surely only because we have put them there...tweaking the incentives on offer is surely a superficial approach to achieving lasting social change. The really freaky thing about doling out selective incentives, it turns out, is that in doing so governments are trying to reduce deeply held beliefs and important cultural values to the sordid matter of a bung".
from : duncanoleary
17th July 2006
