If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered why the most qualified person doesn't always get the job, or why some students get into their top-choice schools while others are left behind?
- Did you know that the same economic principles used to trade stocks are actually the secret to saving lives through organ donations and even finding your perfect romantic partner?
- What if you could understand the hidden rules of 'matching markets' to navigate the most important decisions in your life, love, and career more effectively?
Listen to Who Gets What – and Why — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Who Gets What – and Why
- Discover why matching markets—like college admissions or job hunting—operate differently than standard commodity markets, requiring both buyers and sellers to choose each other rather than relying solely on price.
- Understand the delicate balance of market 'thickness,' and learn why having too many participants can cause decision gridlock if the system isn't designed to handle the congestion.
- Learn how technology and software algorithms can solve market congestion by making two-way communication faster, perfectly illustrated by Uber's revolution of the transportation industry.
- Find out how markets 'unravel' when participants game the system with high-pressure early decisions—like exploding job offers—that deprive both sides of crucial decision-making information.
- Discover how encouraging honest information sharing through centralized matching algorithms can rescue failing, chaotic systems and drastically improve outcomes for everyone involved.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from Who Gets What – and Why
Mind Map
Who Gets What – and Why
Commodity vs. Matching Markets+
Thickness and Congestion+
Market Unraveling+
Market Design & Algorithms+
Market Signaling+
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 6
What is the primary characteristic that distinguishes a 'matching market' from a classic commodity market?
Question 2 of 6
According to the book, what happens when a market becomes too 'thick'?
Question 3 of 6
Why do 'exploding offers' in the law firm hiring process cause the job market to 'unravel'?
Question 4 of 6
How did the computerized clearinghouse algorithm improve the New York public school system?
Question 5 of 6
What is the 'paradox of market design' mentioned in the text?
Question 6 of 6
How do American colleges use 'market signaling' to overcome the congestion caused by centralized application platforms?
Who Gets What – and Why — Full Chapter Overview
- 1Recommendation
- 2Beyond classic commodity markets, matching markets depend on more than mere prices alone.
- 3Technology can help reduce market congestion.
- 4Matching markets may become inefficient and unravel when the participants learn to game the system.
- 5Encouraging participants to share vital information can greatly improve matching markets.
- 6Letting participants signal their preferences can ease some market congestion.
Who Gets What – and Why Summary & Overview
In Who Gets What – and Why (2015), Nobel Prize winner Alvin Roth brings his groundbreaking research on market design to a broader, nonspecialist audience, explaining how markets work, why they sometimes fail and what we can do to improve them. Using contemporary examples, Roth outlines the nonfinancial factors that shape markets and shows how we can make more informed marketplace decisions.
Who Should Listen to Who Gets What – and Why?
- Anyone interested in how different economies function
- Business, government and community leaders responsible for designing efficient markets
- Anyone who wants to make better decisions in life, love and work
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