tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post3120266309990611465..comments2024-03-22T06:05:36.544-04:00Comments on Kids Prefer Cheese: What happens when you try to give away money?Mungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-87932242554452996862013-07-29T22:15:08.740-04:002013-07-29T22:15:08.740-04:00Hi Anonymous,
Chris's point stands that the v...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />Chris's point stands that the video only addresses poorly structured competitions. What if the students all learned something important from the essays? What if writing those essays taught the students more than (let's be honest) watching youtube videos or tweeting during that time would have? Well-designed competitions eliminate the negative externalities.<br /><br />Also, the man in the video clearly states that the winner's "net value is slightly less than $10,000, and she had to work so many hours to win it!" (As if that's a travesty...)<br /><br />Videos like this appeal to those who don't reason very well...Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-87482237266001266772013-03-26T13:37:05.916-04:002013-03-26T13:37:05.916-04:00Hi Chis,
On the student scholarship, the point is ...Hi Chis,<br />On the student scholarship, the point is to look at total welfare for society. Yes, it's a net gain for the one person who gets the scholarship, but how many other people also spent $120 trying to get the money? If it's more than 10,000/120 = 83 people, then they would have collectively spent more than the scholarship was worth. That's a net loss for society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-85713295566414884152013-03-26T13:30:56.522-04:002013-03-26T13:30:56.522-04:00Can you clarify for me how giving away money cause...Can you clarify for me how giving away money causes negative externalities?<br /><br />It seems like your point is that poorly structured competitions can have greater costs than the value of the prize. In many cases the winners positive externalities may outweigh the deadweight loss caused by rent seeking behavior. Isn't this more of an argument about the structure of programs than it is about their viability?<br /><br />I'm also not clear on how the individual winner in your scholarship example is not better off. They expended $120 of effort and recived $10,000 for a net gain of $9,880.Christopher Znoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-26123750136430180042013-03-26T10:04:02.003-04:002013-03-26T10:04:02.003-04:00I apologize if this question is naive and ignorant...I apologize if this question is naive and ignorant, but why do food stamp recipients spend most of the money at the beginning of the month? Why not spend it evenly over the 1 month period? Maybe I'm wrong, but I've heard that food stamps pay out pretty well these days. <br /><br />A friend of a friend who's a med student in Mass. was getting $800 to 900 a month for his family of 4. Man, I'd like to have a food budget that big. There would be a lot more shrimp and bacon in my diet.<br /><br />Anyway, I found a a Food Stamp calculator. Check out this incentive fail I discovered when I put $3,000 in savings in the calculator:<br /><br />"We are sorry. You told us that you have more than $2,000.00 available to you. You have more assets than the Food Stamp Program allows. If your assets drop below $2,000.00, you may become eligible for food stamp benefits. You may be eligible for other food programs if you meet their income and/or age guidelines."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com