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Disincentive

Discouragement to do something

A disincentive is something that discourages an individual or an organization from behaving in a certain way. Disincentives may fall within the scope of economics, social issues or politics. For comparison, incentives encourage behaving in a desirable way.

01Economic

Economic disincentives are any factors that demotivate an individual from following a particular path. For example, if pay for a particular task is too low, that prospective employee may choose to avoid following that particular employment route. Similarly, if an individual has a particular medical issue and the employer is unable or unwilling to accommodate his or her impediment, that individual will choose to look elsewhere for work.

02Politics

The furtherance of disincentives is a tool used by politicians both in foreign policy and domestic policy. Disincentives in foreign policy are means and tactics used to deter an adversary from belligerence. In domestic policy, a disincentive is a tool that aims to deter an individual from breaking the law or otherwise reoffending.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Disincentive, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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