Title: Planet Money: Incentives to Work Hard (Audio Q&A)
Course: Alabama Economics Sample Syllabus > Section: Unit 2: Economic Thinking

Description: In 1930, the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote an essay in which he predicted that by the time his children were grown up, people would be working just 15 hours a week. Today, in some countries, people do work a bit less than they did 50 years ago, but Keynes’s prediction was essentially wrong. There is a counterintuitive response to incentives, and that is one factor that keeps people working long hours. According to his descendants, Keynes himself was a workhorse who couldn’t slow down. Listen to this audio story to learn more about Keynes and why making money doesn’t necessarily free us to work less.

Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes