Morality of Markets

Tag: Morality of Markets

GMOs, Blood, Sperm, Human Milk…. not necessarily in that order

Here are two upcoming talks that are certainly of interest:

What you need to know about GMOs

Tuesday, April 7 in Warch Campus Cinema.  7 p.m.

Explore the benefits and drawbacks of GMOs in a panel discussion led by Professors Beth De Stasio and Dave Hall. They will cover the facts and myths of GMOs and how they affect human health and the environment.

For a recent economics survey article on GMOs, see Geoffrey Barrows, Steven Sexton, and David Zilberman. 2014. “Agricultural Biotechnology: The Promise and Prospects of Genetically Modified Crops.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(1): 99-120.

 

For Sale: Markets in Eggs, Sperm and Human Milk in Modern America  

Kara Swanson, Associate Professor, Northeastern University School of Law.Thomas Steitz Hall of Science 102 – Lecture Hall.  4:30 p.m.

Here is a recent interview with Professor Swanson in The Atlantic Monthly.  For a recent economics survey article on blood, see Robert Slonim, Carmen Wang, and Ellen Garbarino. 2014. “The Market for Blood.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(2): 177-96.

The Morality of Markets

Here is our schedule for the term:

October 4th 11:10–12:20       Ethics, Efficiency, and Markets, up to page 103

October 25th 11:10–12:20            What Money Can’t Buy, Chapter 1

November 1st 11:10–12:20      What Money Can’t Buy, Chapter 2

November 8th 11:10–12:20      What Money Can’t Buy, Chapter 3

November 15th 11:10–12:20     What Money Can’t Buy, Chapters 4, 5.

The reading for the first meeting  (10/4)  is 100 pages, and for subsequent meetings it is about 50 pages each. The first reading, Ethics, Efficiency, and Markets, is available for purchase as an online book, you can order used copies, or you can download it from this website: http://en.bookfi.org/book/1172337. The first chapter in that book is a short introduction in which basic notions are established; Chapter 2 will review several arguments that you will be familiar with from your economics classes; and Chapter 3 is the most significant for our discussion. Be prepared to state succinctly the moral arguments for and against the market. You have over two weeks to cover the 100 pages, which should not be too taxing. This first reading should give us some ammunition for our discussions of the second book.