factual

The bagel honor-box system shows people are honorable

Paul Feldman's office bagel delivery using an unmonitored honor box, tracked over years, found that roughly 90% of people paid, demonstrating that an honor-payment system can work and that most people behave honorably even without enforcement—contrary to economists who insist such a system cannot function.

factualpending

Speaker

Stephen Dubner

Evidence Quote

It was an honor-box system. That was really the key... you could then determine how, quote, 'honorable' people were

Source

Twenty Years of Freakonomics (with Stephen Dubner)EconTalk
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:23:34 AM

My Notes

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