Creating Normal

Levitt and Dubner - who wrote Freakonomics - are big fans of incentives.  As we know, economic theory is firmly rooted in the incentive world - folks will seek to maximize their utility in any given situation (aka - getting something for doing something.)  The Freakonomics blog always has good stories on how people react to incentives and they also have some nice thoughts on incentives gone wrong.

Here's one that I thought was particularly interesting - Let’s Hope This Is Not the Best Organ-Donor Incentive Proposed This Year.  The gist of it is that they will award medals to those that donate their organs.  While the concept itself is somewhat lame, the comments that came with the post are even better.  Here's a smattering...

Here’s a better (and already legal) organ-donor incentive — if you agree to donate your organs after you die, you’ll be moved up the waiting list if you ever need a transplant to live.

This incentive is available at www.lifesharers.org

Or this...

I have to admit to being slightly confused. I had the impression that a number of organ donors no longer had the need for their donated parts, or any other parts, to put it delicately. To whom would these medals go, then, in those situations? If I were considering organ donation, the prospect of bestowing a commemorative medal on my bereaved next-of-kin is even less of an incentive than the reward of receiving one myself.

My take - the medals or a way to begin the process of changing a culture.  Create ways for the masses to see what others have done begins to create a new normal.  When more people see more people donating organs that becomes normal.

Comments

[kare Anderson]

Once again I am in awe of the synchronicity that sometimes happen online. Someone in my audience directed me to your blog because you mentioned a post in mine. Of course you cover so many fascianting "incentive" topics I kept on reading.

Well, your above reference to the incentive to designate oneself as a donor, to be higher on a list if one needs an organ is something I will now share with a most remarkable trailblazer woman in my Marin County, who (I learned yesterday) needs a liver. Kit Cole also wants to highlight the whole issue /system of organ donation.

Thank you

[Paul Hebert]

Here's a link to another post on the how to motivate and influence altruism if anyone is interested.

http://incentive-intelligence.typepad.com/incentive_intelligence/2007/03/can_you_buy_alt.html