Markets and Morals
Justifying Kidney Sales and Legalizing Prostitution

Considering efficiency, equality, and morality, the book argues for qualified market expansion, particularly in legalizing kidney sales and prostitution.

Yew-Kwang Ng (Author)

9781316646571, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 March 2019

220 pages, 2 b/w illus. 1 table
22.8 x 15.1 x 1.2 cm, 0.32 kg

'Yew-Kwang Ng has one of the most original minds that I have ever encountered. In this stimulating and highly readable book, Ng puts his mind to the task of puncturing many of the shibboleths that have been put forward against the use of markets to allocate goods and services like human organs and sexual favors. Ng is a hard-wired utilitarian, and illustrates in this excellent book how the utilitarian perspective can shed much-needed light on the morality of using market exchange in controversial situations such as these. Anyone who has been troubled by the extension of markets into these areas should read this book.' Dennis C. Mueller, Universität Wien

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.

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 legalising kidney sales
10. Making presumed consent the default option
11. Blood donation
12. Prostitution Yan Wang and Yew-Kwang Ng
13. Conscription
14. Profiteering
15. Water: a typical case of under-pricing
16. Fines, imprisonment, or whipping?
17. Some specific areas
18. Concluding remarks.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Behavioural economics [KCK], Economics [KC], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]