The Cobra Effect refers to unintended consequences that arise from well-intentioned interventions or policies, particularly when these interventions create perverse incentives or unintended behaviors that exacerbate the original problem they were meant to solve. The term originated from an anecdote in colonial India where the British government offered a bounty for dead cobras to reduce the population of venomous snakes. In response, locals began breeding cobras to collect the bounty, leading to an increase in the cobra population when the bounty was eventually discontinued.

When solving a problem creates a bigger one. The Cobra Effect reminds us of the unintended consequences of incentives. 🐍🔄 #CobraEffect #MentalModels #Incentives

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