Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchPacking Out Your Trash, Brown M&Ms, and $100 Bills on the Sidewalk
Season 1 Episode 13
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How do you trade off your own interests against the interests of others? And what role do transaction costs play? A discussion of our…
2 years, 7 months ago
Academic Publishing, Talking Frogs, and Nailing Your Head to the Floor
Season 1 Episode 12
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What do Monty Python, George Akerlof, and the academic publishing industry have in common? They're all part of the explanation for th…
2 years, 7 months ago
Faith and Loyalty through the TC Lens
Season 1 Episode 11
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Transaction costs can help institutions build loyalty and commitment among their members. Starting with the biblical story of Abraham…
2 years, 8 months ago
Lettuce Again, and Lumber
Season 1 Episode 10
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How is buying lettuce like buying lumber? Each is idiosyncratic, and has to be sorted. Imposing the sorting costs on the buyer is act…
2 years, 8 months ago
Conventional Wisdom, Chesterton Fences, and "Excuse me"
Season 1 Episode 9
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(NOTE: SORRY for audio glitch earlier. Fixed now!)
BR asks about the economic content of "old sayings."
We talk about habits, character…
2 years, 8 months ago
Dollar Hot Dogs, Coupons, and Bidding for Wallets
Season 1 Episode 8
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Last week's letter asked about the role of transaction costs in rationing discounted products, or "sales," like "Dollar Hotdog Night!…
2 years, 8 months ago
Women in Prison, and ALL Costs are Transaction Costs
Season 1 Episode 7
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Last week's letter asked if charging prices below the "market" price might be rational, but might be an antitrust violation.
The TWE…
2 years, 9 months ago
Dating, Marriage, and the Costs of Search
Season 1 Episode 6
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Episode 6 takes up the question of "matching," and the transaction costs of dating and marriage. Some resources:
Ashley Madison: "…
2 years, 9 months ago
Roads, Public Goods, and Focal Points
Season 1 Episode 5
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Episode 5: Notes and Sources
Vaughn Baltzly, "Publicized Goods, or the Promiscuity of the Public Goods Argument." https://www.camb…
2 years, 9 months ago
Middlemen: From Mancgere to Amazon
Season 1 Episode 4
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Does Starbucks have surge pricing?
What is a Mancgere?
Should the Stomach go to the Wheat, or should the Wheat come to the Stomach?
Plus…
2 years, 9 months ago