One of the most basic principles of economics is that individuals respond to incentives. This concept seems to not be understood by the Badminton World Federation. This group has structured a competition in which losing a game increases your chances of winning a medal. When 4 teams of players from Indonesia, South Korea, and Indonesia responded rationally to the incentives that were designed by the Badminton World Federation, all 8 players were disqualified. .If the goal of the team is to win Olympic medals, does it make sense to penalize players for behaving in a manner that is designed to increase their chances of winning a medal?
If one designs a system in which teams enhance their chances of winning by losing selected games, it strikes me as remarkably unfair to penalize the players that pursued a rational strategy. If anyone is to be punished, shouldn’t it be the people that designed this system?
Posted by economicalthoughts 
Economical Thoughts 