Healthcare market design when we want more prevention

Liability can drive AI doctor adoption, but optimal rules depend on the usable medical record: rich records support strong liability; coarse records favor partial rules, from @alex8chan.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w35321

People want to know how AI makes decisions—until knowing means they can no longer look away, from @alex8chan.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w35240

Speaking with the great sociologist Mark Granovetter gave me the opportunity to tell the joke "“Economists study how people make choices; sociologists study why people don’t have choices.” #sociologysky #economicssky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/05/mark...

Providing evidence that presumed-consent laws increase organ donation only when strictly enforced and family veto power is limited; weak opt-out regimes show negligible or even negative effects, from @alex8chan.bsky.social, Ayush Gupta, and Yetong Xu www.nber.org/papers/w35169

Al Roth, taking a strong stand in WaPo, in favor of paying kidney donors (thoughtfully & carefully, of course)

📣Come work with me @harvard.edu ! Harvard @harvardhbs.bsky.social -RA, **CS, AI, Causal Inference, statistics** (interest in health economics a plus but not necessary), start date: the sooner the better👀 (at least now through summer), remote option alexchan.net #Econtwitter #econra #econ_ra

On Monday, we are excited to host Alex Chan from Harvard University. Alex will present: 'Opt in? Opt out?' (with Ayush Gupta and Yetong Xu). ➡️ Paper: drive.google.com/file/d/17Ojq... Looking forward to seeing you on Monday! 📉📈 #EconSky

Best abstract (economic theory) for @ashecon.bsky.social 2026 awarded to the immensely brilliant Kurt Sweat @utswtxid.bsky.social- might the first time a market design paper got honored this way Way to go Kurt! www.ashecon.org/2026-ashecon...

The translations of my book title Who Gets What and Why are now closer in the simplified and traditional Chinese character translations than they were in the first edition. #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/04/new-...

Here's a video of a public lecture I gave in (and a little bit about) Taiwan, yesterday. #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/04/mark...

Here's a conversation about life and Moral Economics #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/04/mora...

📣Come work with me @harvard.edu @harvard.edu @harvardhbs.bsky.social -based doctoral student RA, **market design, micro theory**, start date: the sooner the better👀 (at least now through summer) - G2+, remote option AI and market design, etc. alexchan.net @vmdseminar.bsky.social

One of the big lessons of market design is that markets need social support to work well. That applies with particular force to the market for medical care, which (for its sins) isn't universally trusted. #econsky #academicsky #medicine marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/04/trus...

This is big news! I've been following these debates in Germany almost since I started working on legal issues surrounding kidney exchange. And Axel Ockenfels has been at the center of those debates fighting the good fight. Kudos Germany

"When a market fails here, it fails loudly." -Alex Chan on studying organ transplantation marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/alex...

Incentives matter. Regulation is an important part of market design. #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/03/alex...

“But the truth is that we already have incentives; they’re just accidental and poorly distributed.The choice isn't between market and no market. It’s between a system we design on purpose and a system that fails by accident.” @harvard.edu @harvardhbs.bsky.social www.library.hbs.edu/working-know...

💬 Viewpoint: The CMS IOTA model incentivizes increased kidney transplants by rewarding volume, organ acceptance, and short-term graft survival, but risks remain for equitable access and long-term patient outcomes among those with end-stage kidney disease. ja.ma/4s8ZLTE

She is brilliant, she is modest, she can stage a comeback. Alysa Liu is the QUEEN. QED.

The microsociology & contingency of int'l diplomacy What are the behavioral mechanisms of communications in diplomacy? How do factors exogenous to an interaction affect & inform the meaning of behavior? Intriguing questions motivate 2 book projects Seanon Wong discussed in his CASBS fellows seminar

This week’s Taboo & Repugnant Roundup: a NYT guest essay questioning whether prediction markets are dangerous, the game Organ Attack discussed on the Market Design blog, and a short HBS video on markets and transplantation featuring @alex8chan.bsky.social

Incentives matter (you get more of what you measure). marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/01/rede...

Dovetails with Chan-Roth 2024 @jpolecon.bsky.social: aligning incentives across the transplant supply chain can saves lives and billions! @CMSGov #transplantation #Healthcare @alroth.bsky.social

Mike Rees, the founder of the Alliance for Paired Kidney Donation (APKD) describes how (with the help of a grant from Stanford) the APKD is helping Brazilian transplant docs get kidney exchange going there. #brazil #econsky #medicine marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/01/kidn...

www.legacy.com/us/obituarie... John Kagel cultivated the experimental lab and culture at Pitt that we still enjoy. we all know his auction expts, but he also had a long-standing interest in animal behavior, e.g. Demand Curves for Animal Consumers, Commodity-Choice Behavior with Pigeons as Subjects

much discussion of the wages of medical residents ignores that many residency positions are paid at rates established by Medicare, which also has a big influence on the number of residency positions. #econsky #medicine marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/medi...

Today's NYT writes about the largest kidney exchange network, a private company with opaque finances called National Kidney Registry (NKR). The story also raises questions about some of the promises NKR makes through a voucher program. #econsky #medicine marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/nkr-...

Erik has been thinking about AI for a long time (even if not as long as the folks I posted about yesterday). #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/erik...

Why do we turn away from Explainable AI (#XAI)/#interpretability? Strategically or unwittingly. @harvard.edu #HBS d3.harvard.edu/explanations...

The NYT reports with concern the number of foreign citizens receiving organs from deceased donors. One question I have that I haven't seen addressed is how many foreign citizens who die while visiting the US become deceased organ donors? marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-... #econsky

New job at Cambridge! Professorship of Public Policy www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...

DEADLINE TODAY: The NBER Race and Stratification Working Group will have its annual meeting on Friday, March 27, 2026. @franciscaantman.bsky.social, Bocar Ba, Robynn Cox and I are organizing the program. Submit your paper today! @nber.org #Econsky www.nber.org/conferences/...

Check out the rest of Pitt JM candidate @jiaweilyu.bsky.social 's exciting research too: sites.google.com/view/jiaweil...

My first Southern Economic Association SEA ⁦‪conference! 📢📢 giving a talk on defaults at 2:00-3:45 🌴🌴 I am hoping to meet more folks! (Please DM or email, esp. job market candidates) #southerneconomicassociation #econtwitter @southerneconj.bsky.social

A NYT Magazine feature on a 68-year-old woman facing felony charges after forging documents for a surrogacy arrangement raises sharp questions about parental age limits, reproductive autonomy, and criminalization. More analysis in this week’s review: open.substack.com/pub/kimberly...

Had an amazing time at the @pennchibe.bsky.social conference!! Thanks to Kevin Volpp and the incredible organizing committee! (Thanks @katymilkman.bsky.social!!)

⏰ We are hiring on the junior market! ⏰ Multiple open positions at the Oxford Department of Economics: econjobmarket.org/positions?sh... 2 positions associate professor open field, 1 position development econ. cc @oxfordecondept.bsky.social

Practical market design is alive and well in Israel. #econsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/10/mark...

Current laws on organ donation might reasonably lead one to conclude that society disapproves of saving lives via transplantation. #econsky #medicine #repugnance marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/10/fune...

New paper by @alex8chan.bsky.social & Kurt Sweat, via @alroth.bsky.social Abstract: We propose amending [NOTA] to permit reimbursement of funeral expenses for deceased organ donors, analogous to current practices for whole-body donors.

The most anticipated book for 2026! I pre-ordered my copies already!

Seeking PhD students for 2026 @ UT Dallas! In the Early Cognition & Communication Lab, we explore the development of communication, abstract thought, and social bonds and consider the role of early exposure to AI. Apply by Nov 15, 2025 bbs.utdallas.edu/departments/... #phdlife #DevSci #CogSci

My friend Mark Granovetter’s famous paper on #weakties is cited more than 3X more than ⁦‪Acemoglu, Johnson, Robinson‬⁩’s ⁦‪Nobel-winning masterpiece - it’s worth a read! (A delicious, congruent pairing is work by the ⭐️W.D.Eberle Chair ⁦‪@Stanford.edu‬⁩)

Back at #Tucson for #ESA conference!! It’s going to be 🤩! Can’t wait to see everyone! PLUG: stop by tomorrow (😇😇 Friday 10am for the AI session at Ocotillo), I want your feedback and thoughts on my new work on Explainable AI #XAI #interpretability

(In)Citeful economists #econsky #academicsky marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2025/09/cita...

Had a fantastic time at the Econ Dept @universitetsmuseet.bsky.social Loved the thoughtful and open culture, and it was a joy to share/debut my work on preferences for #XAI explainable AI. And yes — I even caught sunny Bergen, so clearly I was spoiled ☀️🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴

Truly amazed by the inspiring culture at @lusemlu.bsky.social — such a warm and engaging department! Thrilled to share my work on opt-in/opt-out, and I can’t wait to visit @lund-university.bsky.social again soon!! 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪

🚨 Live from Stanford! 🚨 @alroth.bsky.social at the APKD Palo Alto Summit on Extending Kidney Exchange. Incredible progress happening in #India, #Brazil & beyond on kidney & liver exchange, plus donor-initiated chains. Huge developments —the future is saving more lives. #KidneyExchange

R.I.P. Peter Temin - besides his well known work in economic history he has also contributed to pharmaceutical market design “Nationally, if we keep the current structure, in 50 years only hedge fund managers will be able to afford prescription drugs.”