Who Gets What - And Why

The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design

By: Alvin E. Roth

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

A Nobel laureate reveals the often surprising rules that govern a vast array of activities - both mundane and life-changing - in which money may play little or no role.

If you've ever sought a job or hired someone, applied to college or guided your child into a good kindergarten, asked someone out on a date or been asked out, you've participated in a kind of market. Most of the study of economics deals with commodity markets, where the price of a good connects sellers and buyers. But what about other kinds of "goods," like a spot in the Yale freshman class or a position at Google? This is the territory of matching markets, where "sellers" and "buyers" must choose each other, and price isn't the only factor determining who gets what.

Alvin E. Roth is one of the world's leading experts on matching markets. He has even designed several of them, including the exchange that places medical students in residencies and the system that increases the number of kidney transplants by better matching donors to patients. In Who Gets What - And Why, Roth reveals the matching markets hidden around us and shows how to recognize a good match and make smarter, more confident decisions.

©2015 Alvin E. Roth (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good overview of matching markets

Good overview of matching markets by someone who helped shape the field. A bit repetitive and the performance is silly.

Great Intro to Contemporary Markets

Roth’s compelling discussion of markets, their strengths and limitations in certain contexts, based on his career work that led to his Nobel Prize in 2012, is a great intro read for the lay person wanting to understand econ today without wanting to rehash the same tired political debates. I agree with others that the narrator is a little corny sounding, but it is not so much that it spoils the listen.

A Tale of the Good & the Bad

The content is interesting and important. The book is thoughtful, well-organized, and effectively communicated. You should "read" it.

The reader is pedantic, infuriatingly so. His accent is absolutely grating. The word "market" is in almost every sentence, and every single time the reader deletes the "r," and inserts in its place at least one, if not two, "w's." I thought that he would drive me crazy.

Read it. but not on Audible. You have been warned.

Good explanation of interesting concepts.

Great use of stories to make concepts easy and entertaining to understand. Introduced some new ideas that seemed useful, clear and likely beginner friendly. Listened to it over a long car ride and liked it a lot.

Excellent book about markets

Well written and approachable, a good listen for anyone interested in market design. The reader’s voice was kind of annoying but tolerable.