In fact these lofty goals can often have a deleterious effect, leading to discouragement, unethical behavior or even underachievement.

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Data showing a deleterious effect might well be more likely to be written up and published than data showing nothing much.

ECONOMIST: Ocean acidification

"Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption in Europe, clear messages on its deleterious effect on health should be given to the population, " Dr Romaguera and colleagues conclude in their research paper.

BBC: Diabetes warning over soft drinks

Certain policymakers, whose ultimate goal is single payer government healthcare, understand the economic calculus that underlies the consideration of pre-existing conditions and fully realize the deleterious effect this ban will have on the industry.

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Those who are concerned about the deleterious effect of spiralling executive pay in the City are given ammunition in the form of a study by Obermatt, a consultancy, which shows there is no correlation between pay for senior executives and stock performance on the FTSE 100.

ECONOMIST: The financial crisis

Large-scale land concessions often generate a planning blight effect, which here refers to the uncertainty and deleterious effects on the social fabric and economic activities in targeted areas once a land allocation decision is made, or once negotiations between government and prospective investors have begun.

UNESCO: Madiodio Niasse on the risks associated with large-scale foreign land aquisitions | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The close juxtaposition of these disclosures has generated much useful discussion about secret stakes, their effect on the market, their effect on companies, and what changes or regulations can or should be mounted to address their potentially deleterious impact.

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