Cafe Hayek - Latest Comments in Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

lab coats — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:20:54 -0000

there are numerous benefits in legalize the sale of kidney.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Jesrad — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:49:07 -0000

> I'm not suggesting that more of the 'less

> desirable' kids would be put for adoption, but rather that the kids who might fall into

> that category (but who are eagerly adopted

> now under conditions of scarcity) might go begging if the supply expanded and

> prospective parents could shop for whatever

> 'pure breed' of baby they desired.

I have to disagree with Slocum on this. Comparing the "perceived value" of respective babies isn't the correct methodology for predicting the redistributive effects of the measure.

The only meaningful redistributive effect is that babies are, under this system, actualising a higher value, in every individual case of exchange.

What I mean is that every baby sold in this manner ends up being valued _more_ than it would have otherwise, and not that some babies will lose value and some will gain value. The latter reasoning is fallacious, and thinking that maintaining scarcity by keeping the "official" value of babies at exactly ZERO will somehow make babies valued higher, is utterly absurd.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Tim M. — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 17:16:29 -0000

There's a good article in The Economist on the economics of the baby business. It discusses a book very related to Don's article. See it here:

http://www.economist.com/bu...

(The fertility business

Cupidity

Feb 16th 2006)

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

asg — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 09:45:23 -0000

Parents are already allowed to give away their childrens' kidneys (ever hear of "savior siblings"?).

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Matt — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:35:34 -0000

Could a parent then sell his/her child's kidney?

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Slocum — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 14:45:10 -0000

> You are currently free to give up a child

> you don't want for _whatever_ reason to

> adoption.

> That people don't do this en mass for

> "mutts" shows that wouldn't give them

> "'free to a good home'"

I'm not suggesting that more of the 'less desirable' kids would be put for adoption, but rather that the kids who might fall into that category (but who are eagerly adopted now under conditions of scarcity) might go begging if the supply expanded and prospective parents could shop for whatever 'pure breed' of baby they desired.

> That sounds like an excellent business.

Uh, yeah--that's a bug, not a feature.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Ivan Kirigin — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:57:29 -0000

Slocum,

You are currently free to give up a child you don't want for _whatever_ reason to adoption.

That people don't do this en mass for "mutts" shows that wouldn't give them "'free to a good home'"

"Combine the sales of parental rights and surrogacy, and one might imagine blond, beautiful college students with perfect SATs earning large sums by donating eggs & sperm, hiring a surrogate to carry the fetus, and then selling the rights to the designer baby."

That sounds like an excellent business.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

asg — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 08:33:43 -0000

There's a huge waiting list for Down's babies, which suggests that people have sufficiently varied preferences as to what babies they want to adopt that a market in parental rights might not be so uniform as Slocum suggests.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Slocum — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 06:24:03 -0000

Well, I'd be more likely to go for the legalized kidney selling than 'parental rights' selling. With kidneys, the market is naturally limited--nobody's going to buy one unless they *really* need one. And if you need one, I believe one kidney is pretty much as good as another (so long as there's a tissue match).

But babies? I think there are many potential unintended consequences not envisioned in the article. For example, why wouldn't it turn out that the parental rights for certain 'pure bred babies' go for enormous sums while the rights to less desirable 'mutt babies' (which would have been in demand under the old system) are offered 'free to a good home' -- which 'good home' often would not be forthcoming?

And that doesn't factor in surrogate mothers. Combine the sales of parental rights and surrogacy, and one might imagine blond, beautiful college students with perfect SATs earning large sums by donating eggs & sperm, hiring a surrogate to carry the fetus, and then selling the rights to the designer baby.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Lab_Frog — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 23:09:50 -0000

Hmmm, usually the order of preference is Pareto, then Kaldor-Hicks when Pareto is unrealistic given certain (usual) constraints.

Froggy justice is blind and paternalistic/oppressive towards none. Those idiots who need oppression have failed to earn it, as the oppression is likely to spread to the non-idiots (excluding extremely unusual circumstances). If you feel that you have a right to use violence to be paternalistic to others, then Frog proposes that you need paternalism and should give all your wealth to Frog (to prevent you from be exploited from a evil & cold-hearted pragmatic economic system). Despite the lack of incentives you can trust Frog to look out for your interests as Frog loves you without knowing you. Frog kisses!

The above was 90% sarcasm, although you should feel free to give money to the Frog for Dictator of the Solar System Fund.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Kevin — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 18:58:36 -0000

Hell I'm so short on cash twixt now and payday I'd be tempted to see a kidney AND one of my livers.

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

econgeek — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:41:36 -0000

Don; while the pre-emptive ad-hominen at behavioral economists is cute it is not very intelectually kind of you (one usually listens to those with an oposing view before dismissing them).

You outright dismiss the redistributive effects of creating a market in kidneys, somethign I see no ood reason to do and does not require one to be a behaviouralist.

While I am sure under some welfare criterions (e.g. Kaldor-HIcks) this might be a good thing, under others it is seems unlikely (eg Pareto) that it would be an improvement over the status qou. So the question is; why do you favour a redistributive non-pareto improving change so strongly?

Re: Yale Medical Professor Proposes that Kidney Sales be Legalized

Robert Cote — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 15:21:08 -0000

I'm so glad to learn that it is illegal to charge for organ transplant procedures. Here all this time I thought the transplant teams were getting paid. Now that I know they follow the lead of the single most irreplaceable participant (the donor) in not charging on ethical grounds I feel so much better. Face it, we already charge for organ transplants we just pay the least important participants because, surprise, those same least important set themselves on a a throne and dictate transplant ethics for other people.