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Incentivology: The Forces That Explain Tremendous Success and Spectacular Failure
Rewards. Punishments. Prices. The Nobel Prize. Candy Crush. Incentives take more forms than you might expect and they can be hard to spot, but they shape our lives in ways that we rarely examine. Some incentives are obvious, like for example, publicly committing to doing something you dislike in order to motivate you to do something difficult, like lose weight. But, many of the most powerful incentives are accidental, and invisible even to those who designed them. Some are tame – and some are most definitely not. Whether it’s bounties for criminals or Instagrammable meals, training your dog or saving the planet, incentives regularly backfire, go missing, mutate and evolve. Without oversight, their unintended consequences can have very global effects. In Incentivology, economist Jason Murphy uncovers the huge incentive systems we take for granted and turns them inside out. In lively, entertaining prose he explores the mechanisms behind many spectacular failures and successes in our history, culture and everyday lives, and shows us how to use (or lose) incentives in our world at large.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2019
14 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 23, 2019
Think about cause & Effect!
I enjoyed this book because it made me think, it was quite humorous and made me laugh several times. It was easy to read, and had a positive attitude to the future of the human race.I would only recommend it to serious thinkers!
I enjoyed this book because it made me think, it was quite humorous and made me laugh several times. It was easy to read, and had a positive attitude to the future of the human race.I would only recommend it to serious thinkers!
September 20, 2021
Knowledge of Economics -- as basic as it may be -- will help you understand how the world you inhabit works. A step above the basics of demand and supply economics that most already understand, Murphy explains the world of incentives that surround us in a light and enjoyable manner. Each chapter is a trip into the past to learn how an incentive worked or failed horribly. Through learning these outcomes we can become more knowledgeable and be better prepared for the future. I believe everyone should read this book, I know I certainly will recommend it to my friends and family.
January 11, 2020
Very well-written and thought provoking read packed full of sometimes witty anecdotes and examples from pop culture and history - some of which you may have heard before and some of which are fresh.
Sometimes it feels like Murphy goes off on tangents about the topics he's interested in, but thanks to his engaging writing style and interesting perspective I didn't mind at all and was happy to be taken along for the ride. You get the sense that he'd be good value at a dinner party (eg. questioning the shaky logic behind a Hollywood movie: The Hunger Games).
The climate change section risked becoming a bland retelling of facts and/or political but was none of those in the end. He succeeded in his aim to get the reader to think about how a system of incentives would actually help us get what we want in the most environmentally sensitive way, rather than perpetuate the blame game and rhetoric that we get in reality.
However I couldn't quite agree with some key elements of his thesis that we need concrete incentives for the world to work. An example is his narrative-framing ball catching analogy, in which his father pays his young self $1 to catch a ball. In suggesting this is a good thing, he seems to have conveniently forgotten that the dollar incentive didn't actually result in him improving his sporting ability or motivate him to aspire towards a sporting future.
It was pure bribery that, in the case of children, may stunt the development of intrinsic motivation to do what makes you happy/be a good person etc.
Research (hopefully not shoddy!) has recently noted that incentivising yourself to exercise (by rewarding yourself or forcing yourself to pay a fine for missed gym visits) is ineffective. Only a developed intrinsic desire to exercise because you LIKE it succeeds in getting gym results (unless you are a black/white thinking highly trainable type - which few of us are!)
It would have been great if Murphy had delved more into the realm of intrinsic incentives. For example, praising one's effort as a reward (thus encouraging more attempts at things) or using narratives about the benefits of community to use as an incentive (some cultures build up love for community to incentivise - and this can lead to a great common good).
If anything, the topics in the book, while real and revealing, showed more examples of "system gaming", failed incentives and institutional failure. Murphy suggests we work to tweak these holey incentive programs, but could it be because we rely so much a hard rewards and punishments we have these issues in the first place?
Great read though.
Sometimes it feels like Murphy goes off on tangents about the topics he's interested in, but thanks to his engaging writing style and interesting perspective I didn't mind at all and was happy to be taken along for the ride. You get the sense that he'd be good value at a dinner party (eg. questioning the shaky logic behind a Hollywood movie: The Hunger Games).
The climate change section risked becoming a bland retelling of facts and/or political but was none of those in the end. He succeeded in his aim to get the reader to think about how a system of incentives would actually help us get what we want in the most environmentally sensitive way, rather than perpetuate the blame game and rhetoric that we get in reality.
However I couldn't quite agree with some key elements of his thesis that we need concrete incentives for the world to work. An example is his narrative-framing ball catching analogy, in which his father pays his young self $1 to catch a ball. In suggesting this is a good thing, he seems to have conveniently forgotten that the dollar incentive didn't actually result in him improving his sporting ability or motivate him to aspire towards a sporting future.
It was pure bribery that, in the case of children, may stunt the development of intrinsic motivation to do what makes you happy/be a good person etc.
Research (hopefully not shoddy!) has recently noted that incentivising yourself to exercise (by rewarding yourself or forcing yourself to pay a fine for missed gym visits) is ineffective. Only a developed intrinsic desire to exercise because you LIKE it succeeds in getting gym results (unless you are a black/white thinking highly trainable type - which few of us are!)
It would have been great if Murphy had delved more into the realm of intrinsic incentives. For example, praising one's effort as a reward (thus encouraging more attempts at things) or using narratives about the benefits of community to use as an incentive (some cultures build up love for community to incentivise - and this can lead to a great common good).
If anything, the topics in the book, while real and revealing, showed more examples of "system gaming", failed incentives and institutional failure. Murphy suggests we work to tweak these holey incentive programs, but could it be because we rely so much a hard rewards and punishments we have these issues in the first place?
Great read though.
September 19, 2019
Fun and informative
This is a fascinating book for the curious minds wanting to learn while being amused. Great research and full of stories that resonate and explain how our world moves forward. It has a witty economics view point, great relatable stories and a fun read overall. Highly recommend!
This is a fascinating book for the curious minds wanting to learn while being amused. Great research and full of stories that resonate and explain how our world moves forward. It has a witty economics view point, great relatable stories and a fun read overall. Highly recommend!
October 29, 2019
Murphy expounds on his topic with wit, insight and clear passion for understanding and teaching about human behaviours. 'Incentivology' takes a serious economic topic and enthuses it with compassion for our flaws and a strong sense of justice for how to avoid them in the future. A must read!
February 16, 2025
Murphy highlights the core of the human mind’s relation with incentives by implying a simple concept when talking about Scientists: Scientists are rewarded for what they discovered and what worked, not for what doesn’t work. And because of this, it comes as no surprise that a lot of data goes unpublished purely because the results don’t suggest that the intervention ‘worked’.
In this book, Murphy adds a personal touch to his storytelling of how incentives have guided human behaviour throughout the wheel of History. In each chapter, Murphy takes the audience on a ride to past events and explains which incentives worked and which didn’t, and for what reason. This book has a strong emphasis on economics and Murphy makes it easy for the audience to understand the basics of economics, even for beginners. Whilst in most cases Murphy attempted to provide anecdotes from a variety of topics, at times there was simple regurgitation of history which set a different tone to what Murphy had originally started with.
Simply put, it was a great read and a useful source of knowledge about economics and history.
In this book, Murphy adds a personal touch to his storytelling of how incentives have guided human behaviour throughout the wheel of History. In each chapter, Murphy takes the audience on a ride to past events and explains which incentives worked and which didn’t, and for what reason. This book has a strong emphasis on economics and Murphy makes it easy for the audience to understand the basics of economics, even for beginners. Whilst in most cases Murphy attempted to provide anecdotes from a variety of topics, at times there was simple regurgitation of history which set a different tone to what Murphy had originally started with.
Simply put, it was a great read and a useful source of knowledge about economics and history.
October 29, 2019
Murphy expounds on his topic with wit, insight and clear passion for understanding and teaching about human behaviours. 'Incentivology' takes a serious economic topic and enthuses it with compassion for our flaws and a strong sense of justice for how to avoid them in the future. A must read!
March 19, 2021
Found this in the library app; rather interesting and certainly makes you think about things in different ways. Still think the worst thing the Australian government ever did was get rid of the carbon tax; absolute numpties.
4 stars
4 stars
September 6, 2021
Interesting stories throughout the world and history. No practical application. A greater focus on how incentives don't always work. Which left me wondering, is there any point in incentive scheme to affect behaviour?
March 2, 2020
Incentivology not only provides an excellent overview of how incentives shape our lives, our economy, and our lives, but it also provides a much-needed defence of the mixed-market economy.
November 5, 2020
Easy to read and quite informative with many anecdotes. Fully recommended Australian author.
September 21, 2021
Jason Murphy is a great communicator. His clear explanations and memorable anecdotes are built on a solid foundation of research and provide insight into some deeply imbedded systems which control human behaviour and can cause some people to make terrible choices.
Looking forward to more from Jason Murphy.
Looking forward to more from Jason Murphy.
September 25, 2021
Format: Audiobook
Interesting read (listen). One of the first books I've read that dives into incentives and how it affects our world.
Interesting read (listen). One of the first books I've read that dives into incentives and how it affects our world.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews