Markets and Morals

Justifying Kidney Sales and Legalizing Prostitution

Yew-Kwang Ng

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781108173650
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic Policy
• Index: Economics

Considering efficiency, equality, and morality, this book argues for qualified market expansion, particularly in legalizing kidney sales and prostitution. Legalizing prostitution will benefit both men and women, as argued in a chapter jointly written with Yan Wang. Blood donation without monetary compensation can still result in adequate blood supply if schools educate children that blood donation can actually benefit a donor's health. As a society becomes more advanced, with higher incomes and a better educated populace, more activities can be subject to market exchange, with gradual popular acceptance. Without serious misinformation and irrationality, inequality/fairness as such cannot be a valid reason for limiting the scope of the market. The book supports the use of markets to increase efficiency while also increasing the effort to promote equality, making all income groups better off.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The Well-Known Case of Lateness Fees
• 3 Extending Economic Analysis
• 4 The Anti-Market Sentiment
• 5 The Inequality/Exploitation Case against Commodification Is Invalid
• 6 Repugnance? Similar to ‘Honour’ Killing
• 7 Crowding Out or Crowding In?
• 8 Market Expansion Is a Mark of Progress
• 9 The Case for Legalizing Kidney Sales
• 10 Making Presumed Consent the Default Option
• 11 Blood Donation
• 12 Prostitution
• 13 Conscription
• 14 Profiteering
• 15 Water: A Typical Case of Under-Pricing
• 16 Fines, Imprisonment, or Whipping?
• 17 Some Specific Areas
• 18 Concluding Remarks
• Appendices
• References
• Index