Immigration policy and the U.S. health care labor force (David Cutler in JAMA Health)

 Many American health care workers are immigrants, so a reduction in immigration is likely to have consequences for health care.

Trump’s Most Important Health Policy May Be at the Border  by David M. Cutler, JAMA Health Forum. 2025 doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.0617 

"Immigrants comprise a large segment of health care employment. According to labor market data, roughly one-quarter of practicing physicians are non–US born, as are 16% of registered nurses. Immigrants account for an even larger share of employment among low-wage health care workers, including 40% of home health aides, 28% of personal care aides, and 21% of nursing assistants. The immigrant share of these occupations has been increasing over time because US-born individuals are less likely to do these jobs at the current rates of pay.

...

"It is not known what percentage of the non–US-born health care workforce is undocumented. However, 2022 data from the Pew Research Center estimates that, overall, 23% of immigrants (11 million people) in the US are unauthorized. If that same proportion applies to health care workers (such as those in home health care and nursing homes), it implies that roughly 5% of health care support workers are unauthorized immigrants (23% are non–US born and 23% might be unauthorized).

"Thus, one might anticipate a reduction in the health care support labor force of roughly 5%.

...

"A 5% or greater reduction in low-wage health care workers would be massive. To give a sense of what this might mean, employment in nursing homes and residential care facilities is already about 5% below what would have been expected given growth rates before the COVID-19 pandemic. That employment reduction led to backlogs in hospitals during COVID-19 because patients were not able to be discharged to long-term care facilities. Adding a further reduction in postacute care capacity might create backlogs similar to the COVID-19 levels or perhaps even farther.

...

"The immigration enforcement actions of the Trump administration overall may be critical for health care in the next few years. Health care professionals and organizations will need to monitor these effects carefully, looking at policies far beyond the traditional boundaries of medicine." 

Trans Forming Liberty. Amy Sherald at SFMOMA

 Sometimes politics make an artwork even more politically fraught than when it was painted.

 

 

 

Is market design insidious?

 Is market design not just performative, but insidious?  Here's a paper arguing that might be the case.

Nik-Khah, E. (2025). Platforming economics: tech economics, market design, and the transformation of markets. Journal of Economic Methodology, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2025.2470267 

ABSTRACT: Economic methodologists join economists in crediting market designers for taking a pragmatic approach toward improving markets for the common good. Accordingly, the new wave of market design, designated ‘tech economics,’ now accepts responsibility for pursuing efficiency, as well as a myriad of other policy goals. Yet, ambiguity surrounds the targets they hold out for intervention and therefore the justifications they have offered for the continued deployment of their designs. By scrutinizing the theoretical and practical features of these designers’ ‘markets,’ this paper finds that market designers have offered to assist platforms in extending their domains of governance. While this stance has opened up multitudes of design opportunities, the attendant conceptual shift raises questions not only about the activities undertaken by specific tech economists, but more generally about the plausibility of the economist’s professed stance to improve markets for the benefit of all.

Maybe this discussion could benefit from a Bond-style villain?

"The designer’s chief exponent was, of course, Alvin Roth"

###########

This strikes me as a conversation worth having (and I'll be happy to play myself when it is turned into a movie...)

Toledo celebrates Mike Rees

 Here's the announcement from the University of Toledo:

University Recognizes Faculty Members with Distinguished Honor 

"Rees joined the faculty of the then Medical College of Ohio as an assistant professor in the Department of Urology in 1999 and was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and to professor in 2008.

"His research interests include kidney-paired donation, transplant immunology, immunosuppression, xenotransplantation and value-based healthcare, and he has received numerous grants totaling millions of dollars including grants from the Echoes of Lasting Peace Foundation, the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Stanford Impact Lab, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Corporation, Novartis, the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Center for Innovative Immunosuppressive Therapeutics.

Rees mentored three Ph.D. students in xenotransplantation immunology, all of whom have gone on to successful careers in the health sciences and he has trained more than 50 urologists. He has obtained four patents related to his work in transplantation methods, one of which has led to a 30% increase in the supply of deceased donor livers in Europe, and he has written more than 100 publications and book chapters. These publications include: “Nonsimultaneous Extended Altruistic Donors” an idea that has lead to an additional 20,000 living donor kidney transplants around the world, “Delayed Renal Transplant Function,” “Immunological Effects of Hepatic Xenoperfusion” and “Strategies to Increase the Donor Pool.”

His numerous awards and commendations include attending the 2012 Nobel Prize ceremony at the invitation of his mentor for his UToledo-sponsored 2016-2017 sabbatical, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Alvin Roth, the Medal of Excellence from the American Association of Kidney Patients, the Governor’s Award from the National Kidney Foundation, and he was named an American Society of Transplantation’s New Key Opinion Leader.

Rees has given lectures and seminars in France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, India and the Philippines, and he served a three-year fellowship at Cambridge University, where he trained as a multi-organ transplant surgeon under world-renowned surgeon and transplant pioneer, Professor Sir Roy Calne, as well as completing a Ph.D. in xenotransplantation immunology.

“I have been fortunate to be supported by The University of Toledo since 1996 when the Medical College of Ohio made it possible for me to obtain a Ph.D. in immunology and a fellowship in transplant surgery at Cambridge University prior to my arrival in Toledo in 1999,” Rees said. “Transplantation is the great team sport. I am honored to have been chosen for this award, and I am grateful to all those who have trained me, the University of Toledo and Medical Center, the teams that have supported me, and the grant agencies and philanthropists who have supported my dreams over the course of my career.”

 

Presidential communication styles: Obama vs Trump (via Jimmy Kimmel)

 Most of the commentary on recent presidential initiatives focuses, appropriately, on substance. But style is important too, and revealing.  Five years ago, Jimmy Kimmel compared two substantively similar announcements as made  by Presidents Obama and Trump:

 

 

10,554,590 views  Oct 28, 2019  #KIMMEL
When Barack Obama went on TV to announce they killed Bin Laden, he spoke for nine and a half minutes. Trump yesterday, when he announced they killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, did for 48 minutes. So, for further comparison, we thought it might be fun to mash-up Trump’s speech about al-Baghdadi with Obama’s on Bin Laden.

Demonstrating for science (in Washington and elsewhere)

 Scientists are more accustomed to demonstrating science than demonstrating for science, but that may need to change.

Nature has the story:

NEWS, 03 March 2025
US science is under threat ― now scientists are fighting back
Researchers are organizing protests and making their voices heard as Trump officials slash funding and lay off federal scientists. By Heidi Ledford & Alexandra Witze 

"Across the United States, researchers are navigating uncomfortable territory. Repeated threats to research funding and the mass firings of federal workers have pushed some scientists to take on unfamiliar roles as activists, speaking at rallies, calling legislators and forming new pressure groups. “Historically, scientists have done a really bad job of advocating for their own activities,” says David Meyer, a sociologist at the University of California, Irvine. “So this is a new challenge.”

Unaccustomed role

The events of the past six weeks have compelled many scientists to embrace that challenge. Soon after the second inauguration of US President Donald Trump on 20 January, the new administration attempted to freeze payments on federal grants; announced that it would review and potentially cancel any grant that mentioned terms it deemed indicative of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes; and issued dramatic cuts to the overhead, or ‘indirect costs’, paid on projects funded by the US National Institutes of Health.

...

"For many scientists, the big event is coming up on 7 March, at ‘Stand Up for Science’ rallies slated to take place in 32 cities around the country. The main event, in Washington DC, is spearheaded by a group of five researchers, most of them graduate students, who came together to combat their own initial feelings of powerlessness. “It’s been inspiring, as this has grown, to see how many people were feeling the same way and to take action,” says Emma Courtney, a graduate student in biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York."

Universities and democracies

 Universities and democracies are neither entirely the same nor entirely different.

Here's the New Yorker story on Harvard:

Will Harvard Bend or Break?  Free-speech battles and pressure from Washington threaten America’s oldest university—and the soul of higher education. By Nathan Heller  March 3, 2025 

“There is a nearly impossible choice being put to university leaders at this point,” Andrew Crespo, a professor at Harvard Law School, told me. “On the one hand, you have outside funders, including the federal government, who have the ability to threaten the university’s ability to operate. On the other, you have the mission of the institution.” Caught in the middle is the influence of universities on fields as disparate as medicine and art. “This is not about any one institution,” Crespo said. “It’s about higher education in the United States, and whether it is going to survive and thrive or fade away.”

...

"Incisive writers about higher education have pointed out that the American university is a bundle of contradictions held in an uneasy balance that miraculously works. And yet, in marvelling at the miracle, it is possible to overlook how fragile even an uneasy balance is. Last year’s struggles over speech—among protesters and counter-protesters, scholars and administrators—seemed to show a system falling out of equilibrium. This year’s ideological pressure, from government officials and donors, has made higher education, one of the greatest achievements of American culture, vulnerable. Universities are the reason that this country has been able to attract talent, chase breakthroughs, and respond to change. If the American university survives the twenty-first century, that resilience will probably have to do not just with rules and standards but with a certain magic flexibility and eclecticism being upheld.

Tesla Owners Beware of Vandalism (email)

 There is some debate in the business literature about what effect taking a public position on controversial social and political issues has on consumer-facing businesses.  Here's a suggestion that there may be reaction not just affecting sales of Teslas and the company's stock price, but to privately owned Teslas. (I used to live in Brookline, MA, and am still on some town email lists there, and this came in a mass email.)

"To all my Brookline neighbors who own Teslas,

"There is a person, or group of people, who have been going around Brookline defacing Teslas.  The sticker in the attached picture was stuck to my car this afternoon.  It’s large and I can’t get it off (if anyone knows how to do this without damaging the car, please let me know.)  The Brookline Police told me that they have received many reports of this.  If you have a Tesla, please turn on Sentry Mode (now!) so if something like this happens to you, there will be video evidence.  I had previously set my car to disable this feature when at home, as it prevents the car from sleeping, and uses a lot of energy. I will now have it enabled 24/7.  If your car has been vandalized, please report it to the police so there is a record of the crime." 

 

  I'm reminded of reports at one time that animal rights activists/terrorists sometimes attacked people wearing fur coats by spraying the coats with paint. (See e.g. the retrospective story Cutting cruelty out of fashion.)

 

Train robbery in the 21st Century

The LA Times has the story about how it's done these days:

Inside the Mojave Desert train heists targeting Nike sneakers  By Alex Wigglesworth

"The thieves stealthily board eastbound freight trains, hiding out until they reach lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert or high plains far from towns. They slash an air brake hose, causing the mile-long line of railcars to screech to an emergency stop.
"
Then, they go shopping.

"That’s the modus operandi described by investigators in a string of at least 10 heists targeting BNSF trains in California and Arizona since last March. All but one resulted in the theft of Nike sneakers, their combined value approaching $2 million, according to investigators.

 ...

"Theft crews typically scout high-value merchandise on rail lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains

...

"Once the desired loot is found, the thieves alert “follow vehicles,” which track the train. The stolen goods are tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut or control wires inside signal boxes have been sabotaged, said the federal agent, Brynna Cooke.

The cargo is then loaded into box trucks, or hidden in nearby brush until they arrive — provided the surveillance crews that are following the train don’t detect law enforcement, Cooke said. These tactics are often employed by transnational criminal groups that consist primarily of Mexican citizens from Sinaloa, she said.

There were at least 65,000 railroad cargo thefts last year, a 40% increase from 2023

...

"In the Jan. 13 heist, stolen cases of Nikes hurled from the train were later picked up by trucks, the federal complaint states. County and state law enforcement officers were able to catch up with the vehicles with the help of tracking devices that were inside some of the boxes. "

Kidney transplant black market in Myanmar

 BBC Burma has the story (I guess they haven't updated their country name...no doubt they still refer to the Gulf of Mexico, too:) 

The story is about Burmese people purchasing a kidney from other Burmese people, after which they both travel to India for the surgeries, which involves pretending to be relatives.

Myanmar villagers reveal 'desperate' illegal kidney sales, BBC Burmese 

"Zeya, whose name has been changed to conceal his identity, knew of local people who had sold one of their kidneys. "They looked healthy to me," he says. So he started asking around.

"He is one of eight people in the area who told BBC Burmese they had sold a kidney by travelling to India.

...

"Buying or selling human organs is illegal in both Myanmar and India, but Zeya says he soon found a man he describes as a "broker".

"He says the man arranged medical tests and, a few weeks later, told him a potential recipient - a Burmese woman - had been found, and that both of them could travel to India for the surgery.

"In India, if the donor and recipient are not close relatives, they must demonstrate that the motive is altruistic and explain the relationship between them.

...

"He says the broker made it appear as if he was donating to someone he was related to by marriage: "Someone who is not a blood relative, but a distant relative".

...

Zeya says he was told he would receive 7.5m Myanmar kyats. This has been worth somewhere between $1,700 and $2,700 over the past couple of years

...

" he flew to northern India for the operation and it took place in a large hospital. ... he stayed in hospital for a week afterwards.

...

"The BBC last heard from Zeya several months after his surgery.

"I was able to settle my debts and bought a plot of land," he said.

But he said he couldn't afford to build a house and had not been able to construct one while recovering from the surgery. He said he had been suffering from back pain.

"I have to restart working soon. If the side effects strike again, I have to deal with it. I have no regrets about it," he added.

He said he stayed in touch with the recipient for a while, and she had told him she was in good health with his kidney.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, she told the BBC she paid 100m kyats (between around $22,000 and $35,000 in recent years) in total. She denied that documents were forged, maintaining that Zeya was her relative."

 

HT: Colin Rowat

###########

Earlier, also on the Myanmar/India black market

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Cash for kidneys report in the Telegraph

Kevin Sontheimer (1938-2025)

 My old friend and colleague Kevin Sontheimer has died.  He was a great leader of Pitt’s economics department when I was there, not just while he was the department chair, but also before and after that too.

Here's his obit at Pitt:

Sontheimer transformed Pitt economics programs here and abroad
 

"Kevin Sontheimer, a 27-year faculty member who, as chairman, transformed the Department of Economics in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences and was instrumental in the founding of two pioneering international economics and management programs, died Feb. 3, 2025, at 86.

"His tenure as economics chair lasted through most of the 1980s. One of his early hires was future Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth as the first Mellon professorship at Pitt. “Kevin played a giant role in my decision to join the department in 1982,” Roth recalled. “He convinced me that, although the department had previously been somewhat under-resourced, it was a healthy department where it would be fun to work, with colleagues who would work together.

“And he was certainly right about that,” Roth continued. “During the time he was chair, we received permission to recruit fairly heavily, and successfully grew the department into a leading research department as well as a fine teaching department. I did some of the best work of my career at Pitt (1982-1998).

“One of the many things that Kevin did as chair was obtain a grant that allowed us to become one of the early economics departments to have an experimental laboratory. He built the department in other ways as well.”

"That included securing a Mellon Foundation grant to found, together with Jan Svenjar and Josef Zieleniec, the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education (CERGE) at Charles University in Prague in 1991 (which became CERGE-EI in 1992, merging with the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences). He was also an instrumental part of the team from his department and the Katz Graduate School of Business to receive USAID grants to work with Academia Istropolitana Nova and other institutions in Bratislava, Slovakia, to set up their economics program as well as the program at Comenius University in Bratislava.

“Kevin was instrumental … a very, very important player in both of these efforts,” said Andrew R. Blair, professor emeritus of business administration and of economics at Katz and the College of Business Administration, and a close colleague of Sontheimer. “Kevin’s role in the Czech Republic and, most especially, the Slovakia relationships was absolutely vital to the success of these Pitt ventures in Central Europe, which were aimed at incorporating free markets in these countries after decades of operating under Soviet domination,” he added.

"While Sontheimer was economics chair, Blair was director of Katz’s International Business Center, and their cooperation was crucial in such efforts. Blair explained that Sontheimer in particular was “the driving force” behind the latter international program, “with Kevin serving both as co-director of the USAID grant implementation and also as resident director in Bratislava of the economics portion of the Comenius relationship. The idea was to train people who were already faculty members at these institutions, to teach with them over there, and to bring them over here” to Pittsburgh: “Without the grant we couldn’t possibly have done that.

“It was a pleasure to work with Kevin.”

"Kevin Charles Sontheimer was born on March 6, 1938, in Pittsburgh, earning his bachelor's degree in physics at Pitt in 1960, a master's degree in economics from Penn State University in 1963 and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1969.

"He began his academic career on the faculties of Virginia Tech and SUNY–Buffalo, then joined Pitt in 1978 until his retirement as professor emeritus in 2006. He was economics department chair for eight years.

"His own research focus was on microeconomic theory, which led to publications in Econometrica, Journal of Economic Theory and Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, as well as other leading academic publications in his field. He was also a visiting professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and at the University of Mannheim in Germany.

"He is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Carol Sontheimer; daughter Leigh Ellen Sontheimer; son Erik Sontheimer and daughter-in-law Catherine Brekus; son Steven Sontheimer and daughter-in-law Morgan Triplett; grandchildren Claire, Rachel and Tanner Sontheimer; brother Adrian (“Dink”) Sontheimer and sister Sue Wilmot.

"A gathering to celebrate Sontheimer’s life will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts are suggested to the Alzheimer's Association or the Department of Economics at Pitt. "

Kidney exchange: the donor stories, and the movie Abundant

 I'm learning a bit about movie production by following the progress of the movie Abundant, which is about to have a pre-release premier.  Here is the trailer (sponsored by the APKD), and the press release.

Here's the trailer:  https://vimeo.com/1048377579

 

And here's the press release:

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ABUNDANT, a documentary film that follows the unbelievable events surrounding extreme altruists who donated kidneys to complete strangers, has set its world premiere in Hollywood at The Directors Guild of America Theater Complex on March 1, 2025. The event is presented by OneLegacy Inspires Hollywood and The National Kidney Donation Organization (NKDO) as a kickoff to National Kidney Month. OneLegacy Inspires Hollywood champions authentic and accurate storytelling that highlight the power of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation.

“ABUNDANT moves us beyond a mindset of scarcity, reminding us of our shared humanity and connection”

The film’s world premiere is an entertainment industry event to showcase the often-miraculous stories connected to altruistic acts such as living kidney donation. “ABUNDANT moves us beyond a mindset of scarcity, reminding us of our shared humanity and connection,” said Sarah E. Fahey, Chair of OneLegacy Inspires Hollywood. “Through a powerful emotional journey of joy, grief, and hope, the film keeps audiences engaged from start to finish—and lingers long after the credits roll. OneLegacy Inspires Hollywood is thrilled to partner with NKDO and Maitri River Productions to premiere this impactful story during National Kidney Month here in Hollywood. This is the movie Los Angeles, and the world, needs right now,” Fahey added.

The choice of Los Angeles for ABUNDANT’s world premiere was in part inspired by the widespread acts of generosity, kindness and abundance displayed by the Los Angeles community during the recent wildfires. “One thing became obvious to me about abundance and altruism when I was making ABUNDANT,” said Director Donald Griswold. “Acts of abundance or generosity don’t have to be life-saving or dramatic to impact another person’s life meaningfully. We’re all fascinated by the non-directed kidney donors who give a kidney to a stranger, but viewers walk away from the film realizing that small acts and everyday kindnesses make an important impact, too. We saw that in so many ways in LA these last few weeks. We had to show ABUNDANT for the first time here and now.”

National Kidney Donation Organization supports ABUNDANT as part of an effort to gain more attention for kidney donation stories. “We are proud to have a hand in sharing this life-affirming message of hope and goodness with the people of LA, and with all those across the country who might be inspired by it,” said Emily Polet-Monteserro, Executive Director, National Kidney Donation Organization. “This compelling film uses the vehicle of kidney donation to encourage the audience to consider what it means for them to live fully and with love toward everyone, including strangers.”

ABUNDANT includes interviews with 2012 Nobel Prize Laureate Alvin Roth, PhD, Freakonomics Radio host Stephen Dubner, author and researcher Abigail Marsh, PhD, and business leader in the field of system change, Tynesia Boyea-Robinson among other notable personalities. The film features first-hand stories of non-directed kidney donation (where a person donates a kidney to a complete stranger) in a never-before-seen way of telling stories. 

#############

Earlier:

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Abundant: a moving documentary about living organ donors

Abortion bans have increased both births and infant mortality (JAMA)

 Not unexpectedly:

US Abortion Bans and Infant Mortality, by Alison Gemmill, PhD1; Alexander M. Franks, PhD2; Selena Anjur-Dietrich, PhD1; et alAmy Ozinsky, BS1; David Arbou r, PhD3; Elizabeth A. Stuart, PhD4; Eli Ben-Michael, PhD5; Avi Feller, PhD6; Suzanne O. Bell, PhD1  JAMA. Published online February 13, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.28517

"Findings  This analysis of US national vital statistics data from 2012 through 2023 found higher than expected infant mortality in states after adoption of abortion bans (observed vs expected, 6.26 vs 5.93 per 1000 live births; relative increase, 5.60%). Estimated increases were relatively larger among infants who were Black, had congenital anomalies, or were born in southern states.

Meaning  Abortion bans were associated with increases in infant mortality. These increases were larger for populations that already experienced higher than average rates of infant mortality." 

########

There's also an accompanying editorial:

Abortion May Be Controversial—Supporting Children and Families Need Not Be  by Alyssa Bilinski  JAMA. Published online February 13, 2025. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.0854
 

"In this issue of JAMA, 2 articles characterize the impact of recent state abortion restrictions.1,2 Applying observational causal inference methods, the authors estimate a 1.7% increase in birth rates from abortion restrictions in affected states (corresponding to about 22 000 excess births) and a 6% increase in infant mortality (about 500 excess deaths) from 2021 to 2023.1,2 Excess births occurred disproportionately among racially and ethnically minoritized, low-income, and unmarried individuals.1 Among births linked to abortion bans, infant mortality rates were about 4 times higher than rates in the general population.2 The authors note that this likely resulted both as a consequence of abortion bans requiring pregnant individuals to carry fetuses with lethal abnormalities to term and from excess births occurring disproportionately among individuals at high risk for complications. "

Summer School in Experimental and Behavioral Economic, University of Crete, July 2025

 Here's an announcement of a summer school in experimental economics this summer in Crete

We are delighted to announce the 2nd Summer School in Experimental and Behavioral Economics for PhD and MSc students, which will take place at the Department of Economics, University of Crete, Rethymno, Greece, from July 7 to July 11, 2025. The School will feature lectures by leading faculty in Experimental and Behavioral Economics. Further, students can present their work in poster sessions and participate in our novel Bring your Experiment! sessions.

We are privileged that our speakers this year are:

Ariel Rubinstein, Tel Aviv University & New York University

Charles Holt, University of Virginia

Simon Gaechter, University of Nottingham

Roberto A. Weber, University of Zurich

John Duffy, University of California, Irvine

Nikos Georgantzis, Burgundy Business School

The topics of the lectures include Experimental Markets, Individual Decision Making, Experimental Games, Macroeconomic Experiments, Experimental Asset Pricing, Auctions, Organizational Behavior.

Bring your Experiment!

This year we have the novelty of offering special sessions with the title "Bring Your Experiment!" where experienced Lab Managers Jose Vicente Guinot Saporta (University of Nottingham) and Andonis Proestakis (Technical University of Crete), with the support of Lab Technician Dimitris Georgantzis Garcia (University of Sheffield), will answer questions on issues related to the implementation of students' experimental designs, protocols and/or programs. Ρilot sessions with small size groups will be also performed when necessary.

Free accommodation
We offer free accommodation for all students at the Student Dorms of the University of Crete.

Application procedure: see https://ebe.soc.uoc.gr/

Application deadline: March 1

Organizing Committee
Nikos Georgantzis, Burgundy Business School
Panagiotis Skartados, University of Crete
Giorgos Stamatopoulos, University of Crete

 

Donald Shoup (1938-2025) led the war on (too much) free parking

 Here's his WSJ obit:

Donald Shoup, a Parking Guru Who Reshaped the Urban Landscape, Dies at 86
An economist at UCLA, Shoup said free parking carries a high cost, which is borne by everybody, By Jon Mooallem 

“Nothing is more pedestrian than parking,” he often joked. Everyone else is focused on traffic, Shoup told the website Streetsblog. “I thought I could find something useful if I studied what cars do for 95 percent of the time, which is park.”

...

"In the mid-1960s, he was working in Midtown Manhattan while completing a Ph.D. at Yale and suddenly noticed a paradox he couldn’t make sense of as an economist, but which everyone took for granted as human beings. Up and down West 44th Street, “almost all cars were parking for free on some of the most valuable land on earth,” Shoup recalled on the “Curb Enthusiasm” podcast. 

...

“We have expensive housing for people, and free parking for cars! We have our priorities the wrong way around,” Shoup cried out...

 ...

“A surprising amount of traffic isn’t caused by people who are on their way somewhere,” Shoup concluded in a 2007 New York Times opinion column. “Rather, it is caused by those who have already arrived.” 

...

"Shoup’s policy prescriptions were straightforward: Get rid of minimum parking requirements; bring the price of on-street parking in line with demand, enough to maintain one or two empty spots on every block; and funnel the resulting revenue into upkeep and other public services for the immediate area, creating what Shoup called a “parking benefit district,” to bring residents and local businesses on board.

"There were already some successful test cases of these reforms when “The High Cost of Free Parking” was published, most notably in Pasadena, Calif., where reinstalling parking meters was key to revitalizing a historic shopping district. And Shoup considered the proposals in his book so sensible and self-evident that, he later recalled, he naively assumed his vision would immediately become a reality. “I thought the world would change next month,” he told the podcast, “The War on Cars.”

#######

HT: Atila Abduldakiroglu