Who Gets What—and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design

Roth reveals some of the secrets of market design, focusing on sites of exchange where money is not the core issue, such as who gets their children into the best kindergartens and how young doctors are matched to their first-choice residency program. Voice actor Berkrot brings a good deal of enthusiasm to reading Roth’s accounts of how economic theories work in practice. His somewhat gravelly voice is well-suited to the age of the author, who is now in his 60s and recounts his economic theory via chatty first-person narration. Berkrot uses a New England accent (“the MAH-ket foah OH-gan donahs”) that is colorful but not out of place, since several of the book’s on-the-ground examples come from the Boston area (Boston Public Schools, the New England Program for Kidney Exchange). In all, it’s a competent performance from a veteran narrator. A HMH/Dolan hardcover. (June)