I'm in Guatemala attending the 2009 APEE meetings and having a wonderful time. Yesterday, I joined a number of participants on an excursion to Antigua that included observance of a beautiful Palm Sunday processional. Today, sessions at the conference begin.
While in Antigua yesterday, I did some gift shopping for my wife. Antigua's filled with market squares and entrepreneurs in the streets, and the city was full of life. Yet, one doesn't have to look far to see poverty, which brings me to my question.
Assume the gift I was buying yesterday was being sold by a number of different vendors. Assume prices were all identical at the different vendors. Assume that "doing good" is a calculation I'm actually trying to make in my purchase.
If these conditions were present, which vendor do I buy from? Do I buy from the person under a roof in a market square? Or, do I buy from the person on the street in front of the market who seems to need my money more than the person under a roof? What about the person who approaches me and makes me laugh while trying to sell me the gift? Isn't he more deserving of my money because he also made me laugh? Or, perhaps, I should just settle for the person closest to me so that I economize on my time (which is also part of "doing good").
I understand and fully appreciate the "greed is good" arguments that often lead people, particularly economists, to turn a blind eye to the above hypothetical. Assuming I wanted to do good, however, is there anything more than an economistic form of ethical egoism that one should use in making his or her decision of who to buy from?