Markets in everything: self-constraint edition

Greying Japan has a new weapon to scare people into saving for their retirement — an exploding piggy bank.

The "Savings Bomb," which goes on sale in Japan next week, "explodes" and scatters coins if users fail to save for a long time, toy manufacturer TOMY Co Ltd said Thursday.

The battery-powered toy — designed as a cartoon-style, ball-shaped black bomb with a skull and crossbones logo — lights up, makes a noise, shakes violently and scatters coins if it is not topped up for a long time.

"Users must pick up and collect the scattered coins and reflect on their laziness," the Japanese company said.

Here is the full story, and thanks to William Griffiths for the pointer.  Of course if you think about the third derivative long enough, you will realize this might just cause people to spend their money, not save it.

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