that much great tim taylor New Paper on Plasma Donation:
John M Dooley and Emily A Gallagher take a different approach in “Blood Money: Selling Plasma to Avoid High-Interest Loans” (Economic Research ReviewsoonPublished online May 2, 2024; SSRN working paper version here). They are examining how opening a plasma center in an area affects the finances of low-income people. As background they write:
“Plasma, a component of blood, is a key ingredient in drugs that treat immune disorders and other diseases for millions of people. With an annual value of over $26 billion in 2021, plasma represents the largest market for human materials. The United States supplies 70% of the world’s plasma supply, and blood products consistently rank among the country’s top 10 export categories. The United States, unlike most other countries, produces this level of plasma because it allows pharmaceutical companies to compensate donors (typically about $50 per donation for new donors, reaching $200 per donation in severe shortages). do. The United States also allows for a relatively high frequency of donations. Up to 2 times per week (or 104 times per year)…
Not surprisingly, plasma donors tend to be young and poor, and they use plasma donations to replace non-bank credit, such as payday loans.
I was struck by Tim’s thoughts on how this connects to the labor market and regulation.
… I’m thinking about the financial pressures many Americans face. Getting paid hundreds of dollars for a series of plasma donations is not the ideal answer. We also do not take out high-interest, short-term loans. In fact, it may not be a good idea to take out a loan at all if you don’t expect to have the income to repay the loan. In the modern American economy, hiring someone for even a short-term job requires a human resources department, paperwork, personal identification, ledgers, and tax records. There are reasons for these rules, but the upshot is that finding a short-term job that pays for a few days of work is not straightforward, even though most urban areas have a semi-underground network of such jobs.
Roger Miller’s classic 1964 song “King of the Road” says, “Push a broom for two hours/Buy an 8 x 12 four-beat room.” Even after allowing for the song’s romance with the life of a vagabond, it leaves out the idea that low-income people can walk out the door and find a two-hour job that pays enough to solve their immediate cash flow problems. Donating plasma seems nearly impossible in the modern economy.
