Planet Money Morally questionable, economically efficient
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Feb 7, 2024 Dive into the fascinating clash of ethics and economics! Explore the idea of selling organs to tackle transplant shortages and question the morality of such markets. Discover if women should embrace revenge at work and the unexpected benefits of insider trading. Delve into the uncomfortable yet thought-provoking realm of 'yuckonomics,' where societal discomfort meets economic efficiency. With humor and insight, the discussion encourages reevaluating our gut reactions to controversial practices.
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Kidney Matching and Markets
- Al Roth's kidney matching algorithm significantly increased paired kidney transplants.
- A market-based approach, despite moral objections, could further improve organ availability.
Repugnant Transactions
- Many markets don't exist due to moral objections, like surrogacy and assisted end-of-life.
- Economists suggest examining these "icky" areas for potential improvements.
Kidney Market Solutions
- Address concerns about exploiting the poor in a kidney market by solving poverty or offering tax breaks.
- This targets the coercion aspect of monetary incentives for organ donation.