From Neil Reeder
Good to hear that scientists have caught on to the idea that paying for results can backfire (9 April, p 40), even if it is rather late in the day. The Gift Relationship by London School of Economics academic Richard Titmuss, published in 1970, gained classic status for arguing that blood donation is largely altruistic and paying donors could be counterproductive.
More recently, economist John Kay’s book Obliquity (Profile Books, 2010) compellingly showed that great financial success is often best achieved by aiming for something else, not least the thrills of invention and competition. The recent financial crisis has led to some soul searching; economics is not always the “monolith profession” that some would like it to be.
London, UK
