The following is summarised from an e-mail message to the Alternative Institutions discussion group on the Internet (to subscribe to this online discussion group, send a request to: AltInst-request@cco.caltech.ed u and wait up to two business days). For the full text and debate, see http://hanson.gmu.edu/altinst.html.
There are some things that many folks don't think ordinary people should be allowed to buy or sell, but that they don't seem to mind letting insurance companies do. So you can't let people bet on when other folks might die, unless they're an insurance company.
Here is another example of this concept. A paper by Henry Hansmann, entitled 'The Economics and ethics of markets for human organs' (Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 14:57, 1989) proposes that people be allowed, when signing their life insurance contracts, to agree to give up their organs when they die. Upon death, the insurance company could then sell those organs to those with medical needs for them. Anticipating these sales, the insurance company would offer lower premiums to those who agree to this.
This scheme should improve the supply of organs while avoiding those scenarios people worry about, of poor folks selling their kidneys for cash.
Robin Hanson, 2433 Oswego Street, Pasadena, CA 91107, USA (tel 001 818 683 9153; fax 001 818 405 9841; e-mail: rhanson@gmu.edu). His collection of online ideas is traceable via: http://hanson.gmu.edu/altinst.html.
This webpage forms part of the Global Ideas Bank (www.globalideasbank.org).
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