Introduction

In this episode, we discuss with Nick Arnosti the economic aspects of lotteries. Nick explains in which sense lotteries are a relevant economic mechanism, and gives some examples of where and why they are used. We focus in particular on the use of lotteries in the allocation of affordable housing in New York.

Nick Arnosti is assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. His research is focussed on systems for allocating public resources.

During the interview, Nick mentions a paper which compares lotteries and waiting lists; this paper can be found here.