The culture and polity that is Singapore, Germany, and Belarus
Singapore leads the way, offering three-quarters of a million U.S. dollars to gold-medal winners, followed by Indonesia ($383,000), Azerbaijan ($255,000), Kazakhstan ($230,000) and Italy ($185,000).
I would say Italy should not be on that list, as they have some fiscal troubles, plus plenty of other sources of national pride. And there is this:
…other countries offer alternative bait — like military exemptions (South Korea), a lifetime supply of beer (Germany) and unlimited sausages (Belarus).
Here is the article, via James Crabtree.