A repugnant market is an area of commerce that is considered by society to be outside the range of market transactions and that bringing this area into the realm of a market would be inherently immoral or uncaring. For example, many people consider a market in human organs to be a repugnant marketElías, Julio J., Nicola Lacetera, and Mario Macis. 2019. "Paying for Kidneys? A Randomized Survey and Choice Experiment." American Economic Review, 109 (8): 2855-88., or the ability to bet on terrorist acts in prediction market to be repugnant. Others consider the lack of such markets to be even more immoral and uncaring, as trade bans (e.g. in organ transplants and terrorism information) can create avoidable human suffering.
Nobel Laureate Alvin Roth (2007) "introduced in the economics literature the concept of "repugnance" for a transaction as the aversion toward other individuals engaging in it, even if the parties directly involved benefit from that trade (i.e. "There are some things no one should be allowed to do"). Repugnance considerations have important consequences on the types of markets and transactions that we observe and, as such, they impose a challenge for policy and market design."Elías, Julio J., Nicola Lacetera, and Mario Macis. 2017. "Understanding repugnance: Implications for public policy." Working Papers: Serie Documentos de Trabajo 614, Universidad del CEMA.
Examples
The repugnance of markets varies according to time, culture, and economic development, among other factors.Elías, Julio J., Nicola Lacetera, Mario Macis, and Paola Salardi. 2017. "Economic Development and the Regulation of Morally Contentious Activities." American Economic Review, vol. 107(5), pages 76-80, May. Slavery is a market currently considered repugnant while for most of recorded history before it was considered acceptable, and was still considered acceptable against certain people groups until . Examples of markets considered repugnant at one time or place include:
Pregnancy/early childhood Abortion Adoption Egg donation for research purposes Fetal organs and aborted fetal tissueAre we ready for a market in fetal organs? Surrogacy, legal in India and most states in the U.S. (but banned in France and Japan) Drugs and food Illegal drug trade Horse meat, whale meat, dog meats (e.g. in California), cat meat, beef in India, and the meat of endangered animals. Labour Child labor Slavery or indentured servitude Social status/political power Citizenship and/or immigration (Investor visas such as the U.S. E-2 visa are exceptions. Several notable economists have proposed selling citizenship) Education Lobbying Military mercenaries Political corruption activities, such as bribery and influence peddling Vote buying Money/speculation Currency speculation Gambling Predatory lending, especially mortgage lending Pyramid schemes and multi-level marketing Selling short Ticket touting in sports events and concerts Usury (has never been allowed by Islam and was historically banned in Christian countries)
Economic corruption/media power Payola Product placement in some European countries Radio spectrum Sex Pornography (repugnant in some countries/cultures, especially paraphiliac pornography) ProstitutionElías, Julio J., Nicola Lacetera, and Mario Macis. 2015. "Sacred Values? The Effect of Information on Attitudes toward Payments for Human Organs." American Economic Review, vol. 105(5), pages 361–365, May. Virginity Other Certain prediction markets (e.g. 'terrorism futures market') Healthcare Medical debt Organ trade and organ donation from a live donor (Turkey and the Philippines are notable exceptions) (subscription only) Cadavers Life insurance Real estate in Cuba Real estate broker/agent profession or flipping real estate Metered parking Contract killing Simony Odious debt
See also Prohibitionism Repugnancy costs Taboo Yuck factor
References
External links Transcript of BBC broadcast on repugnant markets Google video on Market Failure and Market Design