cobra effect

The cobra effect occurs when an attempted solution to a problem actually makes the problem worse.

The term cobra effect stems from an anecdote set at the time of British rule of colonial India.

This has the cobra effect, namely the mass felling of trees by Soviet farmers, which subsequently led to shortage of fruit.

Wie man Irrwege der Wirtschaftspolitik vermeidet, he illustrated the causes of perverse incentives in economy and politics in referring to the so-called cobra effect.

That became part of the fictional plot for "The Cobra Effect," with the F.B.I. assembling a team along with doctors from the C.D.C. and using science to track down an unknown scientist who is dispensing powdered material into the air, killing a few people, and preparing a big release.