One of the big lessons of market design is that markets need social support to work well. That applies with particular force to the market for medical care, which (for its sins) isn't universally trusted.
#econsky #academicsky #medicine
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/04/trus...
This is big news! I've been following these debates in Germany almost since I started working on legal issues surrounding kidney exchange. And Axel Ockenfels has been at the center of those debates fighting the good fight. Kudos Germany
"When a market fails here, it fails loudly."
-Alex Chan on studying organ transplantation marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/alex...
Incentives matter. Regulation is an important part of market design.
#econsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/alex...
“But the truth is that we already have incentives; they’re just accidental and poorly distributed.The choice isn't between market and no market. It’s between a system we design on purpose and a system that fails by accident.” @harvard.edu @harvardhbs.bsky.social
www.library.hbs.edu/working-know...
JAMA viewpoint article "Reimagining Transplant Center Incentives Beyond the CMS IOTA Model" by Alex Chan, MPH, PhD; Alvin E. Roth, PhD. Includes table outlining a holistic performance model for kidney transplants, listing desired outcomes.
💬 Viewpoint: The CMS IOTA model incentivizes increased kidney transplants by rewarding volume, organ acceptance, and short-term graft survival, but risks remain for equitable access and long-term patient outcomes among those with end-stage kidney disease.
ja.ma/4s8ZLTE
She is brilliant, she is modest, she can stage a comeback. Alysa Liu is the QUEEN. QED.
The microsociology & contingency of int'l diplomacy
What are the behavioral mechanisms of communications in diplomacy? How do factors exogenous to an interaction affect & inform the meaning of behavior? Intriguing questions motivate 2 book projects Seanon Wong discussed in his CASBS fellows seminar
This week’s Taboo & Repugnant Roundup: a NYT guest essay questioning whether prediction markets are dangerous, the game Organ Attack discussed on the Market Design blog, and a short HBS video on markets and transplantation featuring @alex8chan.bsky.social
Dovetails with Chan-Roth 2024 @jpolecon.bsky.social: aligning incentives across the transplant supply chain can saves lives and billions! @CMSGov #transplantation #Healthcare @alroth.bsky.social
Congratulations Tommy!
Mike Rees, the founder of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) describes how (with the help of a grant from Stanford) the APKD is helping Brazilian transplant docs get kidney exchange going there.
#brazil #econsky #medicine
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/01/kidn...
www.legacy.com/us/obituarie... John Kagel cultivated the experimental lab and culture at Pitt that we still enjoy. we all know his auction expts, but he also had a long-standing interest in animal behavior, e.g. Demand Curves for Animal Consumers, Commodity-Choice Behavior with Pigeons as Subjects
much discussion of the wages of medical residents ignores that many residency positions are paid at rates established by Medicare, which also has a big influence on the number of residency positions.
#econsky #medicine
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/medi...
Today's NYT writes about the largest kidney exchange network, a private company with opaque finances called National Kidney Registry (NKR). The story also raises questions about some of the promises NKR makes through a voucher program.
#econsky #medicine
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/nkr-...
Erik has been thinking about AI for a long time (even if not as long as the folks I posted about yesterday).
#econsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/erik...
Why do we turn away from Explainable AI (#XAI)/#interpretability? Strategically or unwittingly. @harvard.edu #HBS
d3.harvard.edu/explanations...
The NYT reports with concern the number of foreign citizens receiving organs from deceased donors. One question I have that I haven't seen addressed is how many foreign citizens who die while visiting the US become deceased organ donors?
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...
#econsky
DEADLINE TODAY: The NBER Race and Stratification Working Group will have its annual meeting on Friday, March 27, 2026. @franciscaantman.bsky.social, Bocar Ba, Robynn Cox and I are organizing the program. Submit your paper today! @nber.org #Econsky www.nber.org/conferences/...
Check out the rest of Pitt JM candidate @jiaweilyu.bsky.social 's exciting research too: sites.google.com/view/jiaweil...
My first Southern Economic Association SEA conference! 📢📢 giving a talk on defaults at 2:00-3:45 🌴🌴 I am hoping to meet more folks! (Please DM or email, esp. job market candidates) #southerneconomicassociation #econtwitter @southerneconj.bsky.social
A NYT Magazine feature on a 68-year-old woman facing felony charges after forging documents for a surrogacy arrangement raises sharp questions about parental age limits, reproductive autonomy, and criminalization. More analysis in this week’s review:
open.substack.com/pub/kimberly...
Had an amazing time at the @pennchibe.bsky.social conference!! Thanks to Kevin Volpp and the incredible organizing committee! (Thanks @katymilkman.bsky.social!!)
See you there John!
⏰ We are hiring on the junior market! ⏰
Multiple open positions at the Oxford Department of Economics:
econjobmarket.org/positions?sh...
2 positions associate professor open field, 1 position development econ.
cc @oxfordecondept.bsky.social
Practical market design is alive and well in Israel.
#econsky
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/10/mark...
Current laws on organ donation might reasonably lead one to conclude that society disapproves of saving lives via transplantation.
#econsky #medicine #repugnance
marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/10/fune...
New paper by @alex8chan.bsky.social & Kurt Sweat, via @alroth.bsky.social
Abstract: We propose amending [NOTA] to permit reimbursement of funeral expenses for deceased organ donors, analogous to current practices for whole-body donors.
