Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want

Summary

Wharton economist and market designer Judd Kessler pulls back the curtain on hidden markets that determine who gets what in everyday life—and how to tip the scales in our favor.

What is the secret to scoring a reservation at a hot new restaurant? When should you enter a lottery to increase your odds of winning? Why did your neighbor’s kid get into a nearby preschool while yours didn’t? Who gets priority for a life-saving organ donation?

These outcomes are not a matter of luck. Instead, they depend on how we navigate hidden markets that arise to decide who gets what when many of us want something and there isn't enough to go around. Every day we play in these markets, yet few of us fully understand how they work.

In familiar markets, what we get depends on how much we are willing to pay. Hidden markets do not rely on prices: You can’t buy your way in to a better position. Instead, what you receive hinges on the rules by which the market operates and the choices you make in them.

Judd Kessler has spent a career studying and designing these very markets. Now he reveals the secrets of how they work and how to maneuver in them. Whether you want to snag a coveted ticket, secure a spot in an oversubscribed college course, get better matches in the dating and job markets, do your fair share of the household chores (but no more), or more efficiently allocate your time and attention, this must-read guide will show you how to get lucky, by design.