The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 places development restrictions on landowners who discover endangered species on their property. Although the law protects wildlife in many ways, it creates a perverse incentive. Landowners who fear that a species might appear later may drain swamps or cut down trees that could host it, so that their land stays free for development. In some cases, endangered animals have been deliberately killed to avoid discovery. Economists and policy writers use this example to show how rules can produce the opposite of their intended effect when they change what people gain by hiding or removing the very thing being protected.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.