In the case of Tony's taco truck, though, when I'm in the desert, the disparity in batonus is enormous. The fact that we make the transaction illegal means that there isn't any of it because you don't get the supply response. Even if it were a rich person whose Lexus was stuck in the snow and a poor person in a beat up car who pushes them out, I think there'd be a lot of cases where they'd turn the money down. In all these cases, whenever we talk as economist and non-economists about these sort of situations, I want to challenge you with a couple of examples in a minute.
Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the psychology, sociology, and economics of buying and selling. Why are different transactions that seemingly make both parties better off frowned on and often made illegal? In theory, all voluntary transactions should make both parties better off. But Munger argues that some transactions are more voluntary than others. Munger lists the attributes of a truly voluntary transaction, what he calls a euvoluntary transaction and argues that when transactions are not euvoluntary, they may be outlawed or seen as immoral. Related issues that are discussed include price gouging after a natural disaster, blackmail, sales of human organs, and the employment of low-wage workers.