A higher KDR is little more than an ego boost.
You don't lose points for getting shot down anyway and now that you collect points for hits and not just when you make a kill, actually logging kills isn't so important. Besides, people tend to get mad when someone is playing in ways to maximize their KDR...
So what "good" comes from a high KDR?
I suppose it's that little dopamine rush... that same thing that keeps people pumping coins into a slot machine. Lol! Maybe some people would be more drawn to the game if they could enable a "Cha-Ching!" mechanism so you can hear your points accumulate:
Shooting down a noob could give you only 4 "dings"
Shooting down a High rank could sound a fire bell.
Bombing a hangar could cause all kinds of sirens, bells and racket...
Dogfight goes Vegas!