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Should We Pay People to Be Healthier?
Podcast

Should We Pay People to Be Healthier?

Bapu Jena
Freakonomics Radio, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Applicable
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Smoking cessation is an uphill battle. Without their regular dose of nicotine, habitual smokers go through powerful withdrawals. Still, of the 34 million smokers in the United States, most will tell you they want to stop smoking. They know that it’s bad for them; they just don’t know how to quit. The monetary costs of ill health are overwhelming, both to the individual and health care providers. When you consider disease and death, the social costs are even worse. So how do you get people to adopt healthy behavior? This episode of the Freakonomics M.D. podcast offers an overview of promising, research-backed strategies.

Take-Aways

  • Monetary incentives can entice people to stop smoking.
  • Monetary incentives are less likely to inspire long-term weight loss, though employing “loss aversion” works for exercise programs.
  • Using monetary incentives to change behavior is less expensive than the alternative, but the practice still faces hurdles.

About the Podcast

Freakonomics M.D. is hosted by Dr. Bapu Jena, a Harvard professor, physician and economist. He researches health economics and policy.

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