> In Hanoi, under French colonial rule, a program paying people a bounty for eac... | Hacker News

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happy-go-lucky on Feb 22, 2017 | parent | context | favorite | on: The Impact Github is Having on Your Software Caree...

> In Hanoi, under French colonial rule, a program paying people a bounty for each rat tail handed in was intended to exterminate rats. Instead, it led to the farming of rats.

LOL. Thank you.

zardo on Feb 22, 2017 | [–]

http://e360.yale.edu/features/perverse_co2_payments_send_flo...

A modern incarnation: High incentives for the destruction of a harmful chemical stimulates it's production.

limelight on Feb 22, 2017 | [–]

France is hardly the only colonizer to experience the problems of perverse incentives: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobra_effect

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