Consider trades made between two people. This could be the raw market where a farmer trades wheat to a lumber jack for wood. Or it can be the more common form of trade involving cash money. As long as the trade meets certain criteria, the trade is “desirable”
The main points of euvoluntary exchange:
- Euvoluntary trade unambiguously makes each party to the transaction at least no worse off than without the trade.
- Even if bargaining from a weak position due to poor alternatives, voluntary trade still makes each party to the transaction at least no worse off than without the trade.
- Voluntary trades made under conditions of radical uncertainty may make one or more party to a trade worse off than without the trade. The expectation of gains drives people to trade.
- Involuntary trades can be expected to make at least one party worse off along some dimension than without the trade.
The whole idea is really pretty cool.