Sunday, April 6, 2014

Classifying Economics Nobels

Someone at the Nobel Foundation has compiled a list of Nobel prizes by fields, with a definition of "field" taken from the one-line prize citation. It makes for a lot of fields...so it may be subject to change. Here's what it looked like recently:

Applied game theory (1)

"for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design"

Development economics (2)

"for their pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries"
"for their pioneering research into economic development research with particular consideration of the problems of developing countries"

Econometrics (8)

"for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes"
"for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes"
"for his clarification of the probability theory foundations of econometrics and his analyses of simultaneous economic structures"
"for his development of theory and methods for analyzing selective samples"
"for his development of theory and methods for analyzing discrete choice"
"for methods of analyzing economic time series with time-varying volatility (ARCH)"
"for methods of analyzing economic time series with common trends (cointegration)"
"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"

Economic governance (2)

"for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons"
"for his analysis of economic governance, especially the boundaries of the firm"

Economic growth (1)

"for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and social structure and process of development"

Economic growth theory (1)

"for his contributions to the theory of economic growth"

Economic history (3)

"for his empirically founded interpretation of economic growth which has led to new and deepened insight into the economic and social structure and process of development"
"for having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change"
"for having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change"

Economic psychology (2)

"for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty"
"for having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms"

Economic sociology (1)

"for having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interaction, including nonmarket behaviour"

Economics of information (5)

"for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information"
"for their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information"
"for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information"
"for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information"
"for their analyses of markets with asymmetric information"

Experimental economics (2)

"for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty"
"for having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms"

Financial economics (8)

"for their pioneering work in the theory of financial economics"
"for their pioneering work in the theory of financial economics"
"for their pioneering work in the theory of financial economics"
"for a new method to determine the value of derivatives"
"for a new method to determine the value of derivatives"
"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"
"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"
"for their empirical analysis of asset prices"

Game theory (6)

"for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games"
"for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games"
"for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games"
"for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis"
"for having enhanced our understanding of conflict and cooperation through game-theory analysis"
"for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design"

General equilibrium theory (3)

"for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory"
"for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory"
"for having incorporated new analytical methods into economic theory and for his rigorous reformulation of the theory of general equilibrium"

Industrial organization (1)

"for his seminal studies of industrial structures, functioning of markets and causes and effects of public regulation"

Input-Output analysis (1)

"for the development of the input-output method and for its application to important economic problems"

Institutional economics (2)

"for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena"
"for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena"

International and regional economics (1)

"for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity"

International economics (2)

"for their pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements"
"for their pathbreaking contribution to the theory of international trade and international capital movements"

International macroeconomics (1)

"for his analysis of monetary and fiscal policy under different exchange rate regimes and his analysis of optimum currency areas"

Labor economics (3)

"for their analysis of markets with search frictions"
"for their analysis of markets with search frictions"
"for their analysis of markets with search frictions"

Macroeconometrics (3)

"for the creation of econometric models and the application to the analysis of economic fluctuations and economic policies"
"for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy"
"for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy"

Macroeconomics (9)

"for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena"
"for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena"
"for his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy"
"for his analysis of financial markets and their relations to expenditure decisions, employment, production and prices"
"for his pioneering analyses of saving and of financial markets"
"for having developed and applied the hypothesis of rational expectations, and thereby having transformed macroeconomic analysis and deepened our understanding of economic policy"
"for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles"
"for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles"
"for his analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy"

Management science (1)

"for his pioneering research into the decision-making process within economic organizations"

Microeconomics (4)

"for having extended the domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interaction, including nonmarket behaviour"
"for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory"
"for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory"
"for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory"

National income accounting (1)

"for having made fundamental contributions to the development of systems of national accounts and hence greatly improved the basis for empirical economic analysis"

Partial and general equilibrium theory (2)

"for the scientific work through which he has developed static and dynamic economic theory and actively contributed to raising the level of analysis in economic science"
"for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources"

Public finance (1)

"for his development of the contractual and constitutional bases for the theory of economic and political decision-making"

Theory of market institutions (1)

"for his discovery and clarification of the significance of transaction costs and property rights for the institutional structure and functioning of the economy"

Theory of optimal allocation of resources (2)

"for their contributions to the theory of optimum allocation of resources"
"for their contributions to the theory of optimum allocation of resources"

Welfare economics (1)

"for his contributions to welfare economics"

Welfare theory (2)

"for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory"
"for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory"

Posted by Al Roth at 5:48 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, April 5, 2014

List of baby names banned in Saudi Arabia (includes Alice and Elaine)

Saudi isn't the first country to find some names repugnant...as I recall, there is a Napoleonic list of French names that are ok, with some presumption that names not on the list are not.  But naming your baby in Saudi Arabia might now be a repugnant transaction:

List of names banned in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia bans 50 baby names--List includes foreign names; those that ‘contradict culture and religion’


Malaak (angel)
Abdul Aati
Abdul Naser
Abdul Musleh
Nabi (prophet)
Nabiyya (female prophet)
Amir (prince)
Sumuw (highness)
Al Mamlaka (the kingdom)
Malika (queen)
Mamlaka (kingdom)
Tabarak (blessed)
Nardeen
Maya
Linda
Randa
Basmala (utterance of the name of God)
Taline
Aram
Nareej
Rital
Alice
Sandy
Rama (Hindu god)
Maline
Elaine
Inar
Maliktina
Lareen
Kibrial
Lauren
Binyamin (Arabic for Benjamin)
Naris
Yara
Sitav
Loland
Tilaj
Barrah
Abdul Nabi
Abdul Rasool
Jibreel (angel Gabriel)
Abdul Mu’een
Abrar
Iman
Bayan
Baseel
Wireelam
Posted by Al Roth at 5:29 AM 1 comments
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Friday, April 4, 2014

An unusual liver exchange in Hong Kong

Here's a paper describing a liver exchange in Hong Kong between one incompatible pair and one compatible pair.

Chan SC, Chok KSH, Sharr WW, Chan ACY, Tsang SHY, Dai WC, Lo CM. Samaritan donor interchange in living donor liver transplantation. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2014; 13(1): 105-109.


BACKGROUND: In order to overcome ABO blood group incompatibility, paired donor interchange has been practised in living donor liver transplantation. Liver transplantations using grafts donated by Samaritan living donors have been performed in Europe, North America, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Such practice is clearly on strong biological grounds although social and psychological implications could be far-reaching. Local experience has been satisfactory but is still limited. As few centers have this arrangement, its safety and viability are still being assessed under a clinical trial setting.
METHODS: Here we report a donor interchange involving an ABO-compatible pair with a universal donor and an ABO-incompatible pair with a universal recipient. This matching was not only a variation but also an extension of the donor interchange scheme.
RESULTS: The four operations (two donor hepatectomies and two recipient operations) were successful. All the two donors and the two recipients recovered well. Such donor interchange further supports the altruistic principle of organ donation in contrast to exchange for a gain.
CONCLUSIONS: Samaritan donor interchange certainly taxes further the ethical challenge of donor interchange. Although this practice has obvious biological advantages, such advantages have to be weighed against the potential increase in potential psychological risks to the subjects in the interchange. Further ethical and clinical evaluations of local and overseas experiences of donor interchange should guide future clinical practice in utilizing this potential organ source for transplantation.
Posted by Al Roth at 5:36 AM 1 comments
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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Thoughtful mom on school choice in Washington D.C.

Here's an interesting long essay in the Washingtonian on getting your kid into kindergarten in Washington D.C, starting before the current system was introduced.:
How Not to Get Your Kid into Kindergarten--Playing the DC Public Schools Lottery is a crazy, soul-crushing pursuit. By Laura Moser
Posted by Al Roth at 5:22 AM 0 comments
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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Headlines that could have been dated April 1, from the Telegraph

Swedish men told to beware testicle-munching fish
Experts have warned Swedish men to keep their swimming trunks on if taking a dip in a sound off the country's southern coast, after a South American fish known for attacking testicles was discovered in the area.
********
Telegraph, 3 September:
Testicle munching fish now found in River Seine in Paris
A South American fish known as the "ball-cutter" due to its taste for human testicles has been caught in Paris' Seine river.
************
Long arm of the law saves officer caught with his trousers down
An armed police officer who had sex with a married woman while on duty kept his job after arguing that he could still reach his gun because it was attached to his trousers around his ankles.

***************
343 French sign 'Don't Touch My Whore' petition

**************
A court has rejected a 60-year-old man's attempt to invoke the ancient right to trial by combat, rather than pay a £25 fine for a minor motoring offence. Leon Humphreys remained adamant yesterday that his right to fight a champion nominated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) was still valid under European human rights legislation. 
Posted by Al Roth at 3:19 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Knight Management, and the Knight Way

One of the problems facing medieval kings was managing the feudal lords who made up their tax base and army. Knights in particular were a cross between conscripts and independent contractors, between officers in the army, heavy armored units, and mercenary captains. They were also potential competitors with the king if not managed properly.  A good deal of thought therefore went into the management of knights: how to motivate them, coordinate them and control them. Much of the planning involved was long term, e.g. the children of important knights were educated at the king's court, making them both allies and hostages.

Not surprisingly, some of this thought can be adapted to address the problems facing modern managers.

Stanford's Graduate School of Business is at the forefront of the effort to re-learn and re-purpose some of this innovative medieval management wisdom (e.g. when should the table be round?), with a center devoted to this branch of management knowledge:



While kings needed the kind of advice that today would be given to CEOs about how to manage executive vice presidents, there was also an extensive body of more tactical knowledge (e.g. have your knights take off their armor before attempting a river crossing). These were compiled in detailed manuals, and one ancient source compiled 655 rules, which were published in the codex known as the 655 Knight Way.
Posted by Al Roth at 2:37 AM 1 comments

Monday, March 31, 2014

I speak about repugnant transactions at the University of Kansas

Tomorrow, if you're in Lawrence Kansas:

Alvin Roth, "Not for Sale! Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets"

Bold Aspirations Lecture Series, 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, presented by School of Business, Departments of Economics and Philosophy
April 01, 2014
07:30 pm - 08:30 pm


Here's a link to a story in the local press: Nobel-winning economist to talk about the meeting of markets and morals
Posted by Al Roth at 2:55 AM 0 comments
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Edelman competition in OR, in Boston today

One of the more unusual presentations I've been involved in is going on in Boston today at the INFORMS conference on Business Analytics and Operations Research.  I'll be part of the team presenting the accomplishments of the Alliance for Paired Donation, at the  2014 Edelman Competition

Sponsored by CPMS, the Practice Section of INFORMS
Finalists will compete for the top prize in this “super bowl” of O.R. practice, showcasing analytics projects that had major impacts on their client organizations. The competition takes place on Monday and is open to all conference registrants. That evening, we will honor the finalists and announce the 2014 winner at the gala awards ceremony and banquet. Admission to the ceremony and banquet is included in your registration fee. On Tuesday, the 2014 winning presentation will be reprised as a plenary session. Past Edelman winners include: Dutch Delta Program Commissioner, TNT Express, Midwest ISO, Indeval, HP, Netherlands Railways, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Warner Robins Air Logistics, GM, Motorola, UPS and other top companies, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. For more information:http://www.informs.org/Recognize-Excellence/Franz-Edelman-Award
2014 Finalists
Alliance for Paired Donation With Boston College, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for “Kidney Exchange”
U.S. Centers for Disease Control with KidRisk, Inc. for “Using Integrated Analytical Models to Support Global Health Policies to Manage Vaccine Preventable Diseases: Polio Eradication and Beyond”
The Energy Authority, for “Hydroelectric Generation and Water Routing Optimizer”
Grady Health System with Georgia Institute of Technology, for “Transforming Emergency Department Workflow and Patient Care”
NBN Co. with Biarri, for “Fiber Optic Network Optimisation at NBN Co.”
Twitter with Stanford University, for “The ‘Who To Follow’ System at Twitter: Strategy, Algorithms, and Revenue Impact”

The paper that our team submitted in support of this nomination is

"Kidney Exchange and the Alliance for Paired Donation," by
Ross Anderson, Itai Ashlagi, David Gamarnik, Michael Rees, Alvin E. Roth, Tayfun Sönmez and M. Utku Ünver
Here's a Boston College press release celebrating the participation of Sönmez and Ünver: BC Economists Co-Finalists for Edelman Prize
****************

 Update: and the winner is 

U.S. Centers for Disease Control with KidRisk, Inc. for “Using Integrated Analytical Models to Support Global Health Policies to Manage Vaccine Preventable Diseases: Polio Eradication and Beyond”

Here's the announcement: CDC Wins INFORMS Edelman Award, Leading Prize in Analytics, Operations Research for Polio Eradication

and here's a list of all the finalists: Franz Edelman Laureates: Class of 2014
Posted by Al Roth at 2:30 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Dignity in dying (versus assisted suicide)

Views on what are repugnant transactions sometimes change, and it may be that those who are seeking change are wise to re-frame the issue.  Something like that is going on in the U.K. right now, where assisted suicide is illegal (as it is in most places).

Here's the website of the Campaign for Dignity in Dying, which says:
"We campaign to change the law to allow the choice of an assisted death for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, within upfront safeguards. You can help us make that change happen.

Under our current law, some dying people are forced to suffer against their wishes. If we can change the law no more people will die, but fewer will suffer. Change the law - take action."

Elsewhere they define: ASSISTED DYING
"Assisted dying is when a terminally ill, mentally competent adult, making the choice of their own free will and after meeting strict legal safeguards, takes prescribed medication which will end their life."
***********

See previous posts.
Posted by Al Roth at 2:33 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Same sex marriage in England and Wales

The first same sex marriages in England and Wales were performed Friday. Here's the story from the NY Times: First Gay Marriages Take Place in England and Wales

"LONDON — Same-sex couples began marrying in London a minute after midnight on Friday, signifying the culmination of a campaign to end a distinction many British gay couples said made them feel like second-class citizens.

"Saturday was the first day that gay couples were allowed to tie the knot in England and Wales after the government legalized same-sex marriage in July.

"Gay couples have been allowed since 2005 to enter “civil partnerships,” conferring the same legal rights as marriage, but campaigners say the distinction gives the impression that society considers gay relationships inferior.
...
"Gay marriage has faced opposition from most religious groups despite shifting public attitudes in Britain in favor of it.

"The Church of England, which leads the world’s 80 million Anglicans, has struggled to reconcile rifts within its ranks over homosexuality as it seeks to tackle rising secularism and falling attendance rates.

...
"The leading Muslim, Catholic and Sikh groups in Britain were all against the passage of the same-sex marriage law.
...
"While the number of countries legalizing gay marriage has grown significantly since the Netherlands made the first move in 2000, only 17 currently allow gay couples to marry.

"France legalized it last year despite several protests drawings hundreds of thousands onto the streets of Paris.
"Scotland, which will hold a referendum on independence from Britain in September, was the latest country to pass same-sex marriage legislation last month, despite strong opposition from the Scottish Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

"In some other parts of the world, governments have been moving in the opposite direction, clamping down on gay rights.

"Uganda attracted international opprobrium in December when it passed a controversial law that makes some homosexual acts punishable by life in prison. Homosexuality is illegal in 37 African countries.

"Russia also faced criticism over a law signed by President Vladimir V. Putin last year banning the spread of “gay propaganda” among minors.

"In England and Wales, homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967, starting off a series of reforms to give gay people the same rights as everyone else."
Posted by Al Roth at 2:25 AM 0 comments
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Friday, March 28, 2014

Passports for sale? (in UK?)

Immigration policy is always a hot political issue in countries that face lots of demand, and one question is whether rich immigrants should be favored.  Lately this has been in the British press, not only because Malta and Bulgaria, members of the European Union, may be selling passports, but because there are proposals that Britain do so...


British passports for sale? Government's migration advisers say rich foreigners should be let in if they hand over money 
Migration Advisory Committee reveals controversial plan to MPs
Visas could be sold at auction or given to donors to universities
Proposal will be presented to the Home Office next month


 "Foreign millionaires will be able to ‘buy’ visas to live in Britain under radical plans drawn up by government advisers.
Migration Advisory Committee suggests people who give money to schools, universities or hospitals should be ‘let in’ to the UK.
It also proposes holding auctions for visas to be sold to the highest overseas bidder, but MPs warn the plan would bring ‘no benefit to the citizens of this country’.
The plan is likely to prove highly controversial, because the Home Office has previously opposed plans by other EU countries to effectively sell citizenship which would give them the right to settle in Britain.
Professor Sir David Metcalf, chairman of the MAC, told MPs that Britain had to examine new ways to attract wealthy investors to the country.
He said: ‘It may very well be that we should be auctioning some of these slots/
‘There should be proper discussion about it. Equally it may very well be that we should be letting people in if they endow a Cambridge college, a major teaching hospital or the London School of Economics with £10 million.’
The committee has been asked to examine the issue by Home Secretary Theresa May, and is expected to submit a report in February."
 **************

Passports for profit: British company to make 'disgusting amounts of money' from controversial EU passport sale

"A British company has been accused of making “disgusting amounts of money” from a controversial scheme by Malta to sell European Union passports to tycoons and celebrities ranging from a former Formula One world champion to a Chinese billionaire.

"Henley & Partners, a private company registered in Jersey which specialises in “citizenship solutions”, stands to make at least €60m (£49m) from its role as the designer and principal contractor for the scheme, which will sell passports for €1.15m a piece.

"The programme, which is due to begin processing its first applicants next month and will provide a right to reside anywhere in the EU, including Britain, has attracted sharp criticism both within the Mediterranean island and abroad.

"David Hanson, the shadow immigration minister, told The Independent he had “significant concerns” about the scheme because it offered a right to live in any EU country although the legality of the practice was questionable.

The EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has sharply criticised the scheme, adding: “Citizenship must not be up for sale.”

*************

EU citizenship for sale to non-Europeans in Bulgaria for as little as £150,000
Undercover Telegraph reporters posing as representatives of an Indian businessman were told that a Bulgarian passport could be legally obtained without the need to live or work in Bulgaria
Posted by Al Roth at 5:34 AM 0 comments
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Northwestern football players granted the right to form labor union

Here's the story: College Players Granted Right To Form Union

"CHICAGO — In a decision that has the potential to fundamentally reshape the N.C.A.A. and alter the relationship between universities and their athletes, a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board sided with a group of Northwestern football players Wednesday, calling them employees who have the right to collectively bargain."

Here's the link to the NLRB page with the decision 

The parties have until April 9, 2014 to file with the Board in Washington, D.C. a Request for Review of the Decision.

Here's my post from Sunday with background.
Posted by Al Roth at 5:27 AM 1 comments
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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How to arrange an organ transplant in China

It appears that you can buy one here: Omar Healthcare Service, Tianjin, China
Posted by Al Roth at 5:49 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Organ transplants and executed prisoners in China

It appears that China's reliance on executed prisoners for transplantable organs is unlikely to end soon, but will be incorporated into what Chinese officials hope will be a more transparent system:

Govt seeks fairness in organ donor system for inmates

Updated: 2014-03-07 07:20

By Shan Juan (China Daily USA)


"China is set to further strengthen the regulation of organ donations from executed prisoners and integrate it into the existing public voluntary organ donation and allocation system, according to a political adviser close to the situation.
Huang Jiefu, director of the China Organ Donation Committee and former vice-minister of health, made the remarks on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions.
"By doing that, organs from death-row inmates used for life-saving operations are secured in a fair, transparent, and corruption-free manner," he said.
Previously, organ donations from executed prisoners were handled inappropriately by "some doctors and law enforcement officers", which might lead to malpractice and corruption, he said.
To end that, "we will regulate the issue by including voluntary organ donations by executed prisoners in the nation's public organ donation system to help ensure an open and fair practice", he said.
China launched the system in 2010 to make it easier for the public to donate organs and ensure the organs are given based on need rather than the "highest bidders".
As of Sunday, 1,570 organ donations had been facilitated via the system, according to Huang.
Donations from executed prisoners were initially not covered by the system. Zhu Jiye, director of the liver and gallbladder surgical department of Peking University People's Hospital, called for changes to the system, to ensure that death-row inmates are not coerced into donating organs.
"We respect their right to donate, but it must be voluntary and their donated organs should be used fairly," he said.
According to Zhu, transplant surgery using organ donations from death-row inmates has declined in recent years, and there were only two such operations at his hospital last year.
Huang added: "China is gradually moving away from a long-term reliance on executed prisoners as a major source for organ donations."
In November, 38 out of the 165 transplant centers in China signed a declaration vowing to stop using donated organs from executed prisoners, according to Huang.
He expects that procedures that include the procurement and allocation of organs from inmates who have been executed will be integrated into the national system soon.
"We've reached consensus with the legal and law enforcement departments on that," he said.
To ensure that donations are voluntary, written consent from the inmate and the family is required, he said.
Another source who didn't want to be named but is close to the situation said written consent from the executed prisoner's lawyer will be added as well.
Also, only designated organ procurement organizations will be allowed to approach law enforcement departments regarding the issue, Huang said.
Most importantly, "donated organs from executed prisoners will be put into a computerized system to ensure fair allocation", he said.
"Any organ donations, including those by executed prisoners, have to go through the system and the computerized allocation process," he added.
Statistics from the National Health and Family Planning Commission show that about 300,000 Chinese people need organ transplants every year.
However, only around 10,000 eventually receive one.
shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn"
**************************
HT: Jay Lavee

Here are some earlier posts on organ donation in China.
Posted by Al Roth at 5:43 AM 0 comments

Monday, March 24, 2014

The (changing) market culture of recruiting college athletes early

Luke Coffman pointed out this article: Flipping out--More recruits are decommitting as college choices become business decisions, whose URL reads like a summary of the article http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/10391907/examining-pre-signing-day-flipping-epidemic-college-football-recruiting 

It starts with this:
"Dalvin Cook makes no apologies for the wild ride on which he took recruiters over the past two years.

"The five-star running back from Miami Central, who enrolled last month at Florida State, pledged in June 2012 to Clemson. He switched his commitment to Florida in April 2013 before flipping to the Seminoles during an ESPNU interview on New Year's Eve while practicing for the Under Armour All-America Game.

"Amid the indecision, he signed scholarship paperwork with Florida, FSU and hometown Miami"

The story goes on
"As recruiting continues to accelerate into the freshman and sophomore years, prospects often reach decisions without an understanding of their opportunities.

"We just keep recruiting until the first Wednesday in February every year," UCLA defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Angus McClure said. "That's all you can do.
Posted by Al Roth at 5:22 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, March 23, 2014

A union for college football players?

Here's the story from ESPN a little while ago:

For the first time in the history of college sports, athletes are asking to be represented by a labor union, taking formal steps on Tuesday to begin the process of being recognized as employees.

More from ESPN.com

MunsonLester Munson writes that the Northwestern football players' attempt at unionization is likely to fail, but the impact could still be far-reaching. Story
Ramogi Huma, president of the National College Players Association, filed a petition in Chicago on behalf of football players at Northwestern University, submitting the form at the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board.
Backed by the United Steelworkers union, Huma also filed union cards signed by an undisclosed number of Northwestern players with the NLRB -- the federal statutory body that recognizes groups that seek collective bargaining rights.
*********************
And here's the CBS coverage: Road ahead for college football players union isn't an easy one

The obstacles members of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team face on the road to forming a union are formidable.

First,  there are a myriad of legal questions that need to be answered, such as is there an employer/employee relationship that exists between the players and the Evanston, Ill. school that meets the criteria set by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Northwestern, not surprisingly, argues that such a relationship doesn't exist. Whether the players can make such a claim against the NCAA, which seems to be the focus of their wrath and also is opposed to their efforts, also is unclear. The players, though, do have the backing of the NFL Players Association, the union that represents their counterparts in the pros.

"Most of the grievances cited by the players concern the NCAA as a monopolistic cartel that wields unbalanced and unreasonable labor market power against the players in terms of compensation and scholarship limitations among other issues," writes Vanderbilt University Economist John Vrooman, a former college football player who studies the economics of sports, in an email. "The issue here is that the NCAA is clearly a cartel but it is not necessarily the employer."

The other obstacle facing the players affiliated with the National College Football Players Association is a practical one. Since members of the team graduate, creating a cohesive bargaining unit will be difficult if have to frequently recruit new members. That's one of the reasons why efforts to unionize teaching assistants on college campuses have faltered.
**************
Here's a report from the first days of hearings:
March 3, 2014

Are College Athletes Employees? Former Labor-Board Chairman Says Yes


Here's an earlier, related post:

College football is big business (who knew?)

Posted by Al Roth at 5:57 AM 0 comments
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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Timothy Taylor discusses the debate on whether selling a kidney should be legal

At his blog Conversable Economist, Timothy Taylor gives a nice summary of the arguments in the recent debate in the Journal of Medical Ethics that I posted about here.

Selling a Kidney?

He concludes:
"My sketch here cannot do justice to all of the arguments involved, but I will add two points. First, at present, the main source of kidney donations is people who die unexpectedly, with a few voluntary donors. In the meantime, thousands of Americans die every year awaiting a kidney transplant. I can easily imagine that a substantial group of healthy people might not be willing to donate a kidney for free, but would be willing to do so for substantial compensation, and encouraging transplants from healthy donors could save thousands of lives. Second, it troubles me that we often expect the donors of kidneys and blood to act out of sheer altruism, but we have no such expectation of any of the other participants in an organ transplant, like the health care providers or the hospital. "
Posted by Al Roth at 5:14 AM 0 comments
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Friday, March 21, 2014

Today is match day (for medical residents)

Here's the press release: U.S. Medical Students Learn 2014 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match Day Results in Ceremonies Today

"In the 2014 NRMP Main Residency Match results released today, more than 16,000 U.S. medical school seniors are among the 25,687 applicants who successfully matched to first-year residency positions. Students receive Match results today at their medical school Match Day ceremonies.

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) March 20, 2014

Embargoed for release until 1:00 PM EDT, March 21, 2014

The National Resident Matching Program®(NRMP®) 2014 Main Residency Match® results released today show that 16,399 U.S. allopathic medical school seniors have matched to first-year residency positions. U.S. seniors around the country will celebrate these results at Match Day ceremonies being held today. Match Day is an annual rite of passage for U.S. medical school students and other applicants, a day when they learn at which U.S. residency programs they will train for the next three to seven years.

This year, the Match offered 29,761 first- and second-year positions, 500 more than in 2013 and an all-time high. More than half of the additional positions were in the primary care specialties of Internal Medicine and Family Medicine. According to NRMP Executive Director Mona M. Signer, the 2014 numbers continue a steady trend of position growth. In the past five years alone weve seen an increase of more than 4,000 positions, and more than half of those are in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine, Signer said.

Although the total number of registrants increased in 2014, the number of U.S. seniors declined. Eighty-nine fewer seniors registered for the Match and 113 fewer submitted rank order lists of programs. Thats a surprise, said Signer. She added, The good news is that the number of U.S. seniors choosing primary care continued to increase modestly, with 3,167 seniors matching in Internal Medicine and 1,398 in Family Medicine. An additional 1,818 seniors matched in Pediatrics, 19 fewer than last year.

Match Rates for Applicant Groups
This years Match included 40,394 registrants, 59 more than last year; however, 85 fewer applicants submitted rank order lists of programs. With more positions and fewer applicants competing for them, match rates rose for all key applicant groups. The overall match rate to first-year positions was 75 percent, the highest since 2006. The match rate for U.S. seniors was 94.4 percent, 0.7 percentage points higher than last year. Of the applicants who matched, 54 percent of U.S. seniors and almost 50 percent of all other applicants matched to their first choice for training.

Prior-year graduates of U.S. allopathic medical schools, students and graduates of osteopathic (D.O. degree) schools, and students and graduates of international medical schools represent the other key applicant groups who submitted rank order lists of programs:

    1,662 previous graduates of U.S. allopathic medical schools, an increase of 175 over last year; their match rate of 48.0 percent rose 7.2 percentage points
    2,738 osteopathic students/graduates, an increase of 61 over last year; their match rate of 77.7 percent was 2.9 percentage points higher than last year
    5,133 U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical schools, 38 more than last year; their match rate of 53.0 percent was an increase of 0.2 percentage points
    7,334 non-U.S. citizen students/graduates of international medical schools, 234 fewer than last year; their match rate of 49.5 percent was an increase of 2.5 percentage points
Primary Care Specialty Trends and Position Fill Rates

With the total number of positions reaching an all-time high, increases were noted in the number of primary care programs and positions offered in the Match:

    Internal Medicine programs offered 6,524 positions, 247 more than in 2013; 99.1 percent of positions filled, and 48.5 percent filled with U.S. seniors
    Family Medicine programs offered 3,109 positions, 72 more than in 2013; 95.8 percent of positions filled, and 45 percent filled with U.S. seniors
    Pediatrics programs offered 2,640 positions, 24 more than last year; 99.5 percent of positions filled, and almost 70 percent filled with U.S. seniors
The most competitive specialties were Neurological Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, and Radiation-Oncology, specialties that offered at least 50 positions in the Match and filled at least 90 percent with U.S. seniors.

Applicants who did not match to a residency position participate in the NRMP Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). During SOAP, the NRMP makes available the locations of unfilled positions so that unmatched applicants can apply for them using the AAMC Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS). This year, 1,075 of the 1,181 unfilled positions were offered during SOAP.

Couples in the Match

The NRMP allows any two applicants to participate in the Match as a couple. Participants who enter the Match as a couple agree to have their rank order lists of preferred residency programs linked to each other so they can try to match to a pair of programs that suits their needs. This year, 925 couples participated in the Match and 843 of them matched to their residency program preferences.

Match Day Ceremonies

Match Day ceremonies begin at 12:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 21, at U.S medical schools. Contact your local medical school for details and photographs or videos from their Match Day ceremonies.

The NRMP Match
The Match uses a computerized mathematical algorithm to align the preferences of applicants with the preferences of residency program directors in order to fill training positions available at U.S. teaching hospitals. Research on the NRMP algorithm was a basis for awarding The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 2012."
Posted by Al Roth at 12:54 PM 0 comments
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Insider trading 2.0? New York State Attorney General talks about high frequency trading and market design

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been talking market design, in a lawman sort of way. Interestingly, he's interested in the proposal by Budish, Cramton and Shim for frequent batch auctions. (See previous posts here and here.)

Press release: A.G. Schneiderman Calls For New Efforts To Eliminate Unfair Advantages Provided By Trading Venues To High-Frequency Traders

Schneiderman: "We Will Continue to Shine a Light on Unseemly Practices That Cater to High-Frequency Traders at the Expense of Other Investors, and Other Forms of Insider Trading 2.0"
****************

Text of speech: Remarks on High-Frequency Trading & Insider Trading 2.0 
New York Law School Panel on “Insider Trading 2.0 – A New Initiative to Crack 
Down on Predatory Practices” 
"As your Attorney General, I am the top law enforcement officer for the State of 
New York, which gives me a unique role to play in the oversight of Wall Street. 
And I take that very, very seriously. I spent most of my career in private practice 
before becoming Attorney General, which is really a distinction among 
Attorneys General in New York State. And I represented big financial firms; I 
represented stock and commodities markets. 

"And I am a believer in our market system, and I am a believer that our market 
can only function with strong, clear regulations, and uniform and equitable 
enforcement of those regulations. 

"We have to ensure that our markets work for the entire investing public, not 
just for a small number. And the Martin Act, which I hope you’ve heard of, 
empowers my office, and our Investor Protection Bureau in particular, to  investigate pretty much any fraudulent or deceptive practice in financial 
dealings. 

"One of the fundamental principles that drives every part of our office is a very 
simple, very American notion of equal justice under law. There has to be one 
set of rules for everyone. 
...
"But, as I mentioned, our capital markets can only succeed if investors view them 
as fair and as fairly regulated. 

"So that’s why we’ve been focusing on cracking down on fundamentally unfair – 
and potentially illegal – situations that fall outside the parameters of traditional 
insider trading but give elite groups of traders access to market-moving 
information at the expense of the rest of the market. 

"This is what we call Insider Trading 2.0, and it’s one of the greatest threats to 
public confidence in the markets. 
...
"Currently, on our exchanges, securities are traded continuously, which means 
that orders are constantly accepted and matched with ties broken based on 
which orders arrived first. This system rewards high-frequency traders who 
continuously flood the market with orders – emphasizing speed over price. 

"The University of Chicago proposal – which I endorse – would, in effect, put a speed bump in place. Orders would be processed in batches after short 
intervals – potentially a second or less than a second in length – but that would ensure that the price would be the deciding factor in who obtains a trade, not who has the fastest supercomputer and early access to market-moving information. 

"This structural reform – sometimes called “frequent batch auctions” -- would help catch and cap the supercomputer arms race now underway. This is 
tremendously important, because even advocates of high-frequency trading 
have always recognized that the potential for destabilization of the markets 
from volatility is a problem. 

"If you had frequent batch auctions, there’s no point in trying to get faster than 
whatever the interval is. It would discourage the risk taking that can cause flash 
crashes because, in the quest for greater and greater speed, there is, in and of 
itself, a threat to market stability. It rewards those who are taking chances. It 
rewards those who try risky new ways to gain a few milliseconds of speed. And that’s something we could put an end to if this proposal were successfully 
carried out. "
 ***************

"Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said today that he’s examining the sale of products and services that offer faster access to data and richer information on trades than what’s typically available to the public. Wall Street banks and rapid-fire trading firms pay thousands of dollars a month for these services from firms including Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Group Inc.’s New York Stock Exchange."
**********************

CNBC interview (video): http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000258750
..."frequent batch auctions, something that came out of the University of Chicago, not some enemy of free markets..."


Posted by Al Roth at 5:48 AM 0 comments
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