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Sacred Values? The Effect of Information on Attitudes toward Payments for Human Organs

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Listed:
  • Julio J. Elias
  • Nicola Lacetera
  • Mario Macis

Abstract

Many economic transactions are prohibited—even in the absence of health or safety concerns or negative externalities—because of ethical concerns that cause these exchanges to be perceived as “repugnant” if conducted through a market. Establishing a system of payments for human organs is a particularly relevant example given its implications for public health; in almost all countries, these payments are prohibited because they are considered morally unacceptable—a prohibition that societies seem to accept despite the long waitlists and high death rates for people needing a transplant. We investigate how deeply rooted these attitudes are and, in particular, whether providing information on how a price mechanism can help alleviate the organ shortage changes people’s opinions about the legalization of these transactions. We conducted a survey experiment with 3,417 subjects in the U.S. and found that providing information significantly increased support for payments for organs from a baseline of 52% to 72%, and this increase applied to most of the relevant subgroups of the analyzed sample. Additional analyses on the support for other morally controversial activities show that attitude changes in response to information depend on the type of activity under consideration and interactions with other beliefs.

Suggested Citation

  • Julio J. Elias & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2015. "Sacred Values? The Effect of Information on Attitudes toward Payments for Human Organs," NBER Working Papers 20866, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20866
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gary S. Becker & Julio Jorge Elías, 2007. "Introducing Incentives in the Market for Live and Cadaveric Organ Donations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(3), pages 3-24, Summer.
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    7. Julio J Elias & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2015. "Markets and Morals: An Experimental Survey Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Alberto Bisin & Thierry Verdier, 2010. "The Economics of Cultural Transmission and Socialization," Post-Print halshs-00754788, HAL.
    9. Julio J. Elias & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2015. "Sacred Values? The Effect of Information on Attitudes toward Payments for Human Organs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 361-365, May.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D47 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Market Design
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • H80 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - General
    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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