Teaching the Economics of Sin

This paper describes a course I developed on the Economics of Sin that integrates ethical and economic material.1 My hope is that this paper will be useful to economists interested in exploring ethically complex economic phenomena and to philosophers who are interested in the ethical implications of economic markets and policies. In keeping with this agenda, I proceed by discussing a framework for relating economic outcomes to common ethical criteria. This is followed by two examples from the course, one involving policy in the market for heroin and the other addressing the economics and ethics of paired kidney exchange. These examples are intended to illustrate the potential for combining ethical and economic approaches to understanding ethically complex economic transactions. I conclude with a few practical remarks regarding the challenge of developing an interdisciplinary course.