Laws and norms

Jean Tirole, Roland Bénabou, Mon, 11/21/2011

Why do many oppose the selling of human organs if, as economists argue, this would increase supply? Economists see material incentives as key to changing behaviour – and are puzzled if incentives don’t work as expected. For psychologists, social norms explain such behaviour; legal scholars say law can shape society’s norms. CEPR DP8663 tries to reconcile these disparate insights with a unifying theory that could explain puzzles such the aversion to organ-selling as well as why so many people resist economists’ advice.

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Vox readers can download CEPR Discussion Paper 8663 for free here. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

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URL:  http://www.cepr.org/DP8663

Topics:  Frontiers of economic research Politics and economics

Tags:  laws, social attitudes, values, psychology, Culture, norms

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