<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;"Worst case scenario, the spy gets killed" - Benedetta Lerva&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;If you hire a spy, a lot can happen. They can get caught. They can get tortured with endless roundhouse kicks to the face. And worst case scenario: they can die. So if you had to risk someone's life to spy for your country, would you do it? And, more importantly, what does this teach us about what it means to be a better person? An economist helps us figure it out.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;The Facts&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;Moonwalk is hosted, written, and produced by Mohnish Soundararajan. Episode was co-hosted by Kevin Sanji. Feedback is by Vysali Soundararajan.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;Special thanks to Benedetta Lerva. The research:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/10816/industrial-espionage-and-productivity"&gt; &lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;East-West Germany espionage paper,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href= "https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/0042.html"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;Rotten Kid Theorem paper&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;, and the&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "https://eml.berkeley.edu/~ulrike/Papers/gym.pdf"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;"Pay Not to Go to the Gym" paper.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;Sign up for the&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "http://www.mohnish.net/insider"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;insider newsletter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;for exclusive updates and book recommendations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: 400;"&gt;Music is by&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "http://www.podingtonbear.com/"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;Podington Bear&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "http://bitbasic.co.uk/"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;BitBasic&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;, and&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href= "http://www.brokeforfree.com/"&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;Broke for Free&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style= "font-weight: 400;"&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;</description>

Moonwalk

Mohnish Soundararajan & Co.

The Rational Spy: How Incentives Screw with Everything

APR 15, 201824 MIN
Moonwalk

The Rational Spy: How Incentives Screw with Everything

APR 15, 201824 MIN

Description

"Worst case scenario, the spy gets killed" - Benedetta Lerva If you hire a spy, a lot can happen. They can get caught. They can get tortured with endless roundhouse kicks to the face. And worst case scenario: they can die. So if you had to risk someone's life to spy for your country, would you do it? And, more importantly, what does this teach us about what it means to be a better person? An economist helps us figure it out. The Facts Moonwalk is hosted, written, and produced by Mohnish Soundararajan. Episode was co-hosted by Kevin Sanji. Feedback is by Vysali Soundararajan. Special thanks to Benedetta Lerva. The research: East-West Germany espionage paper, Rotten Kid Theorem paper, and the "Pay Not to Go to the Gym" paper. Sign up for the insider newsletter for exclusive updates and book recommendations. Music is by Podington Bear, BitBasic, and Broke for Free.