James Mirrlees, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in economics, will participate in a panel discussion on the economics of "obnoxious markets." The discussion will be on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 3:30 in room 401, Warren Hall, on the Cornell University campus.

Mirrlees, professor of political economy at the University of Cambridge, is known for his theories on balancing the equity and efficiency aspects of taxation. He will join the panel discussion with Deborah Streeter, the B.F. Failing Sr. Professor in Cornell's Applied Economics and Management Department; Nancy Chau, Cornell assistant professor of applied economics and management; and Ravi Kanbur, the Lee Teng Hui Professor of World Affairs, who shares an appointment in the departments of economics (College of Arts and Sciences) and applied economics and management (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.) The panel will be chaired by Andrew Novakovic, Cornell's E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics.

Kanbur, who was a graduate student under Mirrlees at the University of Oxford, explains that obnoxious markets can be arms traders, drug dealers, and markets dealing with toxic waste, child labor and body parts. They evoke popular discomfort, distrust and even outrage, he said. Kanbur said that getting rid of these markets, or banning them, might not be the best or only answer to them. "The forces underlying the market may not disappear, and such attempted bans may in fact intensify the problems of extremity, agency and inequality. Such actions must always be supplemented by direct measures to reduce the inequalities which lead to the markets in the first place," said Kanbur.

Mirrlees also will present a technical seminar, "Prizes and Creativity," Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. in Room B-45, Warren Hall.