Economics has been called "the dismal science" however, it can be a valuable tool to analyze any policy decision. Economic Thinking Outside the Box addresses two important issues that are not commonly associated with economics in The Market for Martyrs and Radical Religion and Solutions to Organ Donor Shortage.

Every year thousands of people die while waiting for an organ transplant. Some countries have used legal markets and other alternative methods to address their donor shortages and their experiences shows that these deaths are unnecessary. Alex Tabarrok, a George Mason University economic professor and coauthor of Marginal Revolution, a leading economics blog, examines the economic perspectives of this growing crisis.