Bad Rules and Wrong Signals The main reason why we do not produce and consume more sensibly is not primarily because of moral weakness or stupidity. It is because the incentives and disincentives built into the economy are wrong; they encourage waste, destruction and short-term profit, and discourage conservation, quality and long-term development. The range of things that constitute incentives or disincentives in an economy is, of course, vast. In this section, I will focus on two key areasprices and subsidiesthat can succinctly dramatize how skewed our economic priorities are. But in subsequent chapters, I will look at other important areas that are especially relevant to building materials like building codes. Markets are supposed to allocate scarce resources by reflecting supply and demand in market prices. But more often than not, markets simply mirror power relationships among buyers and sellers, and neglect all sorts of relevant information. In