Should economics have fewer taboos? With Alvin Roth

Should economics have fewer taboos? With Alvin Roth

From The Economics Show by Financial Times

May 15, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

Alvin Roth discusses the potential benefits of reducing moral taboos in economics.

Economists like to think of their discipline as a rational science. But might we make better decisions if we ditched some of our moral aversions? Specifically: would we make better choices if we learned to conquer moral repugnance? Alvin Roth, Nobel laureate, and author of the recent book ‘Moral Economics’, tells host Soumaya Keynes why a free market in kidneys and surrogacy makes economic sense, and what he makes of prediction markets. The inaugural FT Weekend Festival in New York City is fast approaching, with a line-up featuring Paul Krugman, Martin Wolf, Gillian Tett, and plenty more. Join on Saturday, June 20, at Spring Studios or online. Register now and as a podcast listener, save 10% using our code FTPODCAST. Further reading When is it OK for economists to experiment on people? So you tried to buy a country . . . Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple , Spotify , Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Soumaya Keynes

Guest: Alvin Roth

Topics covered

  • economics
  • moral aversion
  • free market
  • kidneys
  • surrogacy
  • prediction markets

Keywords

  • economics
  • moral repugnance
  • Nobel laureate
  • free market
  • kidneys
  • surrogacy
  • prediction markets

Sponsors

Financial Times

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Financial Times, FT Weekend Festival, Acast

Books & works: Moral Economics

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