Carrot and stick

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The phrase "carrot and stick" is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. It is based on the idea that a cart driver might activate a reluctant mule by dangling a carrot in front it and smacking it on the rear with a stick. The idea sometimes appears as a metaphor for the realist concept of 'hard power'. The carrot might be a promise of economic aid from one nation to another, the stick might be a threat of military action.

When the incentive is given only by displaying a (usually unattainable) reward, this is known simply as a "dangling carrot". The idea is that the motion of the carrot (dangling on a string) creates the illusion of attainability, and keeps the subject chasing it.

"And" may be replaced with "or" ("the carrot or the stick)" to suggest the choice between reward or punishment as a means to alter behavior.

The earliest citation of this expression recorded by the Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary is to The Economist magazine in the December 11, 1948, issue. Earlier uses of the expression were published in 1947 and 1948 in Australian newspaper commentary discussing the need to stimulate productivity following World War II. An earlier American example was published in February 1948 in a Daily Republic newspaper article discussing Russia's economy.

Video Carrot and stick

Applied

An example of the use of this policy is Stalin's control of Eastern Europe during the period of the Cold War. He applied it among countries of the Soviet Sphere of Influence to have a tighter control on them.

Carrot on a stick is a similar, but separate, idiom. It refers to a policy of offering a reward for making progress towards benchmarks or goals but not necessarily ever actually delivering. The original metaphor referred to a boy sitting on a cart being pulled by a donkey. The boy held a long stick to which a carrot had been tied, and he dangled the carrot in front of the donkey but just out of its reach. As the donkey moved forward to get the carrot, it pulled the cart--and the boy--so that the carrot always remained just out of reach as the cart moved forward.

Maps Carrot and stick

See also

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References

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External links

• EconPapers abstract for an experiment using this model "The Carrot or the Stick: Rewards, Punishments, and Cooperation"

Source of the article : Wikipedia