Pitch Engine
The Times Real Estate

.

The economics of 'cash for cane toads' – a textbook example of perverse incentives

  • Written by David Smerdon, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland
The economics of 'cash for cane toads' – a textbook example of perverse incentivesIt is estimated there are now more than 200 million cane toads across Queensland and northern New South Wales. Shutterstock

Economics teachers can all thank Pauline Hanson for providing an excellent example to add to their classes.

Indeed, it’s rare that Economics 101 lessons are as readily on display as in the Queensland senator’s...

Read more: The economics of 'cash for cane toads' – a textbook example of perverse incentives

More Articles ...

  1. Productivity Commission finds super a bad deal. And yes, it comes out of wages
  2. There are lessons to be drawn from the cracks that appeared in Sydney's Opal Tower, but they extend beyond building certification
  3. Almost every brand of tuna on supermarket shelves shows why modern slavery laws are needed
  4. Businesses think they're on top of carbon risk, but tourism destinations have barely a clue
  5. Very risky business: the pros and cons of insurance companies embracing artificial intelligence
  6. Brick-bait: three tricks up retailers' sleeves to lure you back to physical shops
  7. Three ways to achieve your New Year’s resolutions by building 'goal infrastructure'
  8. It's time to put the 15-hour work week back on the agenda
  9. Organic, free-range, fairtrade or vegan: how ethical consumption got so selective
  10. There aren't plenty of fish in the sea, so let's eat all that we catch
  11. Yes, retailers exploit Christmas, but their decorations still evoke religious spirit
  12. Here's a long-term budget fix that would boost investment: replace company tax with cashflow tax
  13. More mirage than good management, MYEFO fails to hit its own targets
  14. Vital Signs: No, Joe, America should not be copying Australia's 'asset recycling' misdirection
  15. Why cutting Australia's migrant intake would do more harm than good, at least for the next decade
  16. Cut the pension, boost Newstart. What our algorithm says is the best way to get value for our welfare dollars
  17. Not wiped out. Why Whyalla, of all places, now has a sustainable future
  18. Digital platforms. Why the ACCC's proposals for Google and Facebook matter big time
  19. How low will Bitcoin now go? The history of price bubbles provides some clues
  20. The government can restrain electricity prices without threatening to break up power companies. Its adviser says so
  21. Darwin port's sale is a blueprint for China's future economic expansion
  22. Vital Signs: 35 extraordinary years. What the float of Australian dollar bought us
  23. Thanks for the $2 billion for small-business expansion; now all we need are plans to expand
  24. Will Hayne blink? The problems with banks demand tough measures that neither they nor their regulators want
  25. Who made Australia's first ever bank deposit? Here's our unsettling discovery
  26. How Twitter got blindsided by India’s still-toxic caste system
  27. We all buy slave-made products: here's how we avoid feeling guilty
  28. It's not just Newstart. Single parents are $271 per fortnight worse off. Labor needs an overarching welfare review
  29. At last, Australia has a Modern Slavery Act. Here's what you'll need to know
  30. Vital Signs: why now is the right time to clamp down on negative gearing
  31. The five not-so-easy steps that would push wage growth higher
  32. Does the G20 summit really make a difference? World leaders reckon it does
  33. So what's a secretary to do? Banking Royal Commission raises questions about what's in minutes
  34. Computing faces an energy crunch unless new technologies are found
  35. Redefining workers in the platform economy: lessons from the Foodora bunfight
  36. We'll wait an eternity for the banks to fix themselves. Here's what we can do now
  37. Building our own warships is Australia's path to the next industrial revolution
  38. Blocking Chinese gas takeover won't damage Australia's foreign investment pipeline
  39. Barley is not a random choice – here's the real reason China is taking on Australia over dumping
  40. Here's a tip that could make banks phenomenally successful: radical honesty
  41. A decade after the invention of the smartphone, we're about to find out how we use our time
  42. Fresh thinking: the carbon tax that would leave households better off
  43. Why we should worry about Victoria's China memorandum of understanding
  44. Indonesia matters to us, and always has. Why the relationship will survive Morrison's Jerusalem thought bubble
  45. The gender qualification gap: women 'over-invest' in workplace capabilities
  46. Toppling bankers can be satisfying, but it's not enough to heal a sick culture
  47. The royal commission is about to grill the chiefs of the big four banks. Here's why soon they mightn't exist
  48. Confiscate their super. If it works for sports stars, it could work for bankers
  49. A tip for bankers ahead of the royal commission: be more like doctors
  50. Behind the judgment. Why the Federal Court tore up a $35m settlement between ASIC and Westpac over lending standards