Incentives

Picture this: It’s the 19th century, and the British government has a problem. They’re shipping prisoners to Australia, but only 40% are surviving the journey. Humanitarian groups propose improvements, the government tries various solutions, but nothing works. The survival rate remains stubbornly at 40%. Enter Edwin Chadwick, a visionary economist with a different perspective. He realizes the problem isn’t the voyage conditions - it’s the crew’s behavior. Why? Because captains were paid for each prisoner shipped from England....