Bruce Yandle’s “bootleggers & Baptists” model of political coalition formation is one of the most useful models in the political economy of regulation (and one that both Mike and I employ frequently, as seen by our many posts using the model). Here’s a great new Learn Liberty video featuring Bruce himself describing how coalitions of …
I’m pleased that someone picked up on my offhand mention of the likelihood that deep and broad NSA surveillance will have a negative effect on the value of the Internet as a commercial platform for value creation and posted the link on reddit. Thanks! Since I didn’t intend to provide any in-depth analysis on that …
James Fallows on Surveillance’s Effect on the Commercial Internet Read More »
Lest ye think that I am not a fan of vertical integration, given how firm I am in my arguments for the dis-integration of the vertically-integrated, regulated electric utility, I recommend this post from Seth Goldin about reasons why firms vertically integrate. In large part it’s a concise summary of Klein, Crawford, & Alchian (1978), …
Today a new mall is opening in Rosemont, near O’Hare Airport and the Rosemont Convention Center. The Fashion Outlets of Chicago will have a range of familiar factory outlet stores and restaurants, conveniently located near the airport and public transportation (I could even take the el there from KP Chicago HQ!). So what? According to its …
New Chicago Mall and Schumpeterian Disruptive Innovation Read More »
Here’s the next video from my history of economic thought course, on Alfred Marshall. [vimeo 71441068 w=500 h=281] Alfred Marshall and the Neoclassical Synthesis from Lynne Kiesling on Vimeo. Alfred Marshall was one of the most important economists shaping the field as we practice it today. By synthesizing the classical economics focus on production and …
Course Video: Alfred Marshall and the Neoclassical Synthesis Read More »
Today’s new revelations from Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing show that the NSA can, and does, use a program that surveils our Internet behavior in a general, blanket way (much in the nature of the “general warrants” that were the whole reason the authors of the Bill of Rights put the Fourth Amendment in there in the …
Nsa Surveillance Imperils the Internet As an Economic Platform Read More »
My department is currently a focal point in the debates over the future of innovation and economic growth. Technopessimist arguments from my colleague Bob Gordon (as profiled in this New York Magazine article from the weekend) join those in Tyler Cowen’s The Great Stagnation to suggest that the increase in living standards and the growth …
Over the weekend the New York Times ran a good story about how rooftop solar and regulatory rules allowing net metering are putting pressure on the regulated distribution utility business model: The struggle over the California incentives is only the most recent and visible dust-up as many utilities cling to their established business, and its …
As trenchant observers of human nature, great fiction writers are often very good social scientists. Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors, was a writer with great analytical depth and insight. In addition to the irony and wit for which she is famous, Austen’s writing reflects the philosophical and cultural mindset of the “long 18th …
If you follow Knowledge Problem on Twitter, you’ve noticed that I’ve been continuing to comment on and re-tweet various of the developments in the federal government’s surveillance of individuals without obtaining warrants, the Star Chamber-like super-secret FISA courts and our inability to oversee and monitor the lawfulness of their rulings, and this week’s House of …
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