Hi! My name is Jon Diesel. I am an Econ student at George Mason, working on my MA. I am writing a paper entitled, “Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Organ Liberalization?,” for Econ Journal Watch. I am working with Professor Daniel Klein.
We created this bleg in the hope that people could provide us with citations to economists who have published a judgment on the issue of organ policy. Even judgments that are vague and half-hearted are of interest to us. We are interested in the issue as it pertains to both live and deceased organ donors.
The table below shows economists covered thus far. My research began with Econlit, and fanned out to references included in the papers found in Econlit.
My research has not tackled books, including textbooks. I would be especially grateful if you could contribute citations to economists who address the issue in books or any other form of publication. Especially if the economist you have in mind is not included in the table below.
Please leave your contribution in the comments field below. Partial information will be welcome, but full reference information would be greatly appreciated.
The author making a judgment must be an economist in at least one of the following senses: Holds a degree in econ; has an “economist” title; has been faculty/instructor of economics.
In the table below, “presumed consent” is the reform that would make cadaverous organs the property of the state/health system unless the deceased had explicitly chosen otherwise. “Mandated choice” is the reform that would mandate that individuals choose whether their organs may be used, in the event of death.
Many thanks! Jon Diesel jdiesel@gmu.edu
Bryan Caplan post:
ReplyDeletehttp://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2009/08/why_do_people_o.html
Mankiw:
ReplyDeletehttp://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/05/kidney-shortage.html
The textbook _Microeconomics in Context_ by Neva Goodwin, Julie A. Nelson, Frank Ackerman and Thomas Weisskopf (2nd ed., M.E. Sharpe, 2009) has the following discussion on p. 220:
ReplyDelete"As another example, consider that in the United States you certainly have 'use rights' to your own kidneys. You are also, in the case of kidneys, allowed to donate one to a family member, a friend, or even a total stranger, if you wish. However, because of social beliefs about the proper limits of markets, you are not allowed to _sell_ one of your kidneys.
An important function of the governments in the public purpose sphere, in all countries and communities, is to define and enforce rights to ownership and to the set of rights that go along with ownership of specific kinds of property. Social understandings about ownership, exchange, and transfer—often expressed in a community’s legal codes—set the context for an economy’s distribution activities.
Discussion Questions
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2. Should you be allowed to sell one of your kidneys if you want to? Some people argue that this would make more organs available and thus save the lives of people who die while on long waiting lists for transplants. Others believe that making organs salable would lead to poor people being pressured into making decisions that are at odds with basic human dignity. What do you think?"