Question

1. effectively using incentives means understanding what they are. list examples of financial, social, moral, legal, or other kinds of incentives and describe how they might work in one setting and backfire in another.
2. in this chapter, levitt and dubner explore the relationship between cheap food and obesity. using this example, propose how incentives could be manipulated to attempt to ameliorate the obesity epidemic in the us.

Explanation:

1. Incentives like financial bonuses for healthy - eating at work can encourage employees to make better food choices. However, if the bonus is too small, it may not be effective. In a social setting, shaming people for being overweight as a moral incentive can backfire, causing low - self esteem and potential over - eating.
2. If cheap food is highly processed and high in calories, offering financial incentives such as subsidies for healthy food could encourage people to choose healthier options. For example, tax breaks for buying fresh produce. Social incentives could involve community - based healthy eating campaigns.

Answer:

1. Financial incentive example: Offering employees a cash bonus for meeting weight - loss or healthy - eating goals at work. It might work well if the bonus is significant enough to motivate behavior change. It could backfire if employees feel the bonus is not worth the effort or if it creates a competitive and stressful work environment.
2. One way incentives could be used to ameliorate obesity is by providing tax incentives for food companies to produce healthier products. This could work as it gives companies a financial reason to change their product lines. However, if the cost of producing healthy products is still too high despite the tax incentives, companies may not make the change.