Britain’s government paid for 64 million restaurant meals in 3 weeks
The UK government offered to pay half the bill for restaurant meals, up to £10 ($13.20) per person per meal, starting in August. This was applied for meals eaten in restaurants every Monday through Wednesday, totaling up to 64 million meals in the first three weeks, Quartz reports. During lockdown, Britain’s restaurant industry saw a 60 percent drop in sales—the government hopes the “Eat Out to Help Out” policy would incentivize consumers to dine out again. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, explored the psychological impact of bargains in his 2017 book. His findings suggest that once people have a meal out on the government’s dime, they’re more than likely to return in the future.
