perverse incentives under incentive regulation

Written by on August 30, 2009 to network connectivity

Incentives in incentive regulation, as in many other types of regulation, depend on operational details.  Pacific Bell’s public rate detail filings under its FCC interstate communications services price caps illustrate the importance of obscure details for the operation of price caps. Among the thousands of Pacific Bell rate elements filed from 2003 to 2009 are [...]


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COB-38: attacks on bureaucrats

Written by on August 30, 2009 to carnival of bureaucrats

After a hard day of bureaucratic work, you might enjoy a bed-time gothic thriller: A crime has been committed. The country has been robbed in one of the greatest ripoffs and dirty deals in modern industrial history.  And in the commission of the crime, the nation’s largest and most socially minded corporation was defiled and [...]

you are deeply loved

Written by on August 30, 2009 to big ideas

Imagine!

Wednesday's flowers

Written by on August 26, 2009 to awake

effects of competition for attention

Written by on August 23, 2009 to economics of attention

Ancient Roman elites competed intensely for status and income through the production of verbal works. One result was content focused on sex and violence.


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status of men in social communication

Written by on August 23, 2009 to social networks

Men differ significantly from women in social communication. Analysis of sex differences in literary reading illustrates this difference.


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the dilemma of the front page

Written by on August 23, 2009 to industry structure

The Newseum, that stunning monument to the investment priorities of the leaders of traditional news media, features on its front facade the front pages of newspapers. The front page of a print newspaper is commonly considered to be important news: “front-page news.”  But news that’s important to you depends on you.   Why take seriously [...]


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Wednesday's flowers

Written by on August 19, 2009 to awake

movie negative cost increased 60x since 1929

Written by on August 16, 2009 to industry structure

Some economic aspects of the U.S. movie business have changed relatively little from 1929 to 2007.   The number of feature movie releases in both these years was about 700.  The total number of movie screens was 66% greater in 2007.  That’s less of a change than the 148% increase in U.S. population from 1929 to [...]


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BellSouth communication services volumes, rates, and revenues, 1992-2009

Written by on August 16, 2009 to network connectivity

A dataset of units sold, rates, and revenues from 1992 to 2009 for BellSouth’s interstate communication services is now available.  BellSouth, now part of the new AT&T, developed as a regional Bell (Telephone) Operating Company (RBOC) serving customers in nine states in the U.S. Southeast.  This dataset has been compiled from price-cap tariff data publicly [...]


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