tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post3903224552322639387..comments2024-03-28T14:41:03.793-05:00Comments on The Grumpy Economist: Uber and Occupational LicensesJohn H. Cochranehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04842601651429471525noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-18910944220740269262015-02-02T10:09:14.514-06:002015-02-02T10:09:14.514-06:00Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teac...Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.<br />Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime - unless he needs an occupational license to fish. And then... you'd probably better give him a fish.Finbarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05238276837890615705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-11370509619556487072015-01-31T20:05:52.151-06:002015-01-31T20:05:52.151-06:00License if there is a market failure. In brain sur...License if there is a market failure. In brain surgery there is. Huge asymmetric information, plus the fact that the doctor can extract all your wealth if you have a brain tumour. As for driving a taxi. Not quite the same I am afraid."<br /><br /><br />This. Cochrane's anti-regulation rant is political-ideological (libertarian) and not economical. Unless you consider something that ignores Arrow and Akerlof and as proper economics. :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-79263537695318901622015-01-31T19:27:36.690-06:002015-01-31T19:27:36.690-06:00ugh protectionism ... just last night a buddy paid...ugh protectionism ... just last night a buddy paid for a karaoke room for a friend's birthday. The waitress was very slow with drinks so half the party went directly to the bar. In order to protect the waitress's tips, the bartender (via bar policy) refused to serve anyone who was with the party. Parth Venkathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830285782100016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-62397849082930275092015-01-31T15:16:22.189-06:002015-01-31T15:16:22.189-06:00Just read "Capitalism and Freedom" by Mi...Just read "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman. Somewhere Milty is cheering you on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-52501779680477383662015-01-31T12:23:24.536-06:002015-01-31T12:23:24.536-06:00You won't find a claim on this blog that Fox n...You won't find a claim on this blog that Fox news is unbiased!John H. Cochranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04842601651429471525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-88198076339780402362015-01-31T09:56:22.205-06:002015-01-31T09:56:22.205-06:00I'd like to take issue with one of Cochrane...I'd like to take issue with one of Cochrane's more polemical statements:<br /><br />"Ah well, it's still the New York Times, don't get your hopes up too far for unbiased reporting."<br /><br />I am not aware that the NY Times lays claim to an absence of bias. To the contrary, I think it's well understood that traditional outlets like the Times do indeed have a liberal bias, not just within their opinion columns but also in their straight reporting.<br /><br />One news outlet that repeatedly and loudly claims an absence of bias is The Fox News Channel ("fair and balanced" is their trademark). And, frankly, I think that claim is disingenuous. The Fox News Channel has a conservative bias.<br /><br />As for Cochrane's particular example of bias, perhaps the Institute of Justice is not as familiar to Times readers, hence needed an introduction? Presumably that introduction was reasonably fair minded?<br /><br />Finally, let's return to Krugman for a moment. I think it's absolutely clear to everyone that Krugman wears his liberalism on his sleeve. That seems entirely appropriate, given the political, moral, and psychological "microfoundations" that underlie these economic debates.<br /><br /><br /><br />JZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12994372644670111315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-10364790316938147672015-01-31T07:08:45.158-06:002015-01-31T07:08:45.158-06:00JZ the real question for you is this: imagine a si...JZ the real question for you is this: imagine a situation where you (and a part of the consumers) require your brain surgeon to have some kind of certification and I (along with another portion of the consumers) don't. <br />What would the market reaction be?<br />Think about the myriad of professional certifications that provide standards without creating a barrier to entry.Giohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11595388892349007664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-57538307023994140412015-01-31T04:09:07.306-06:002015-01-31T04:09:07.306-06:00The case of no licenses for lawyers makes a lot of...The case of no licenses for lawyers makes a lot of sense. Really, it takes seven years of college before one can even take a law exam? <br /><br />And why not specialities---like a real estate law certificate in just two years of community college? Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-87629459328307289202015-01-31T02:50:52.286-06:002015-01-31T02:50:52.286-06:00Here in the UK we have a couple of regulatory nuis...Here in the UK we have a couple of regulatory nuisances that really get my goat. One is having to have your "Part P" if you want to do electrical wiring in a bathroom or kitchen. What does it matter as long as the wiring is carried out to the correct standard. Similarly you need to be registered as "Gas Safe" if you are going to install gas pipes in domestic premises. But you cannot do the course unless you also have other qualifications as a plumber. I am building a new extension which building control have told me has to wired by someone with Part P. If not and I do it they will then have someone test it at a cost to me of £565.Daedalusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-85316715240142481242015-01-30T19:10:57.048-06:002015-01-30T19:10:57.048-06:00In his _Capitalism and Freedom_ Milton Friedman do...In his _Capitalism and Freedom_ Milton Friedman does indeed argue for the abolition of medical licensure. Here is some of his argument:<br /><br />"More generally, if the number of physicians is less than it otherwise would be, and if they are all fully occupied, as they generally are, this means that there is a smaller total of medical practice by trained physicians -- fewer medical man-hours of practice, as it were. The alternative is untrained practice by somebody; it may and in part must be by people who have no professional qualifications at all."<br /><br />Here Friedman makes a misstep: "the alternative is untrained practice by somebody". To the contrary, a highly viable alternative is no treatment at all, which may be far preferable to iatrogenic illness caused by substandard treatment.JZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12994372644670111315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-34629675543678367922015-01-30T08:27:07.517-06:002015-01-30T08:27:07.517-06:00I never look at licenses. I pick my doctors, dent...I never look at licenses. I pick my doctors, dentists, plumbers, painters, etc. based on word of mouth and recommendations from other professionals.Rich Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00941404638652186901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-87630069489674555332015-01-30T07:19:30.454-06:002015-01-30T07:19:30.454-06:00License if there is a market failure. In brain sur...License if there is a market failure. In brain surgery there is. Huge asymmetric information, plus the fact that the doctor can extract all your wealth if you have a brain tumour. As for driving a taxi. Not quite the same I am afraid. <br />João Ejarque.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-67416319912169498462015-01-29T21:07:44.245-06:002015-01-29T21:07:44.245-06:00Dear John
Thanks for the cite :) If anyone is int...Dear John<br /><br />Thanks for the cite :) If anyone is interested (and they can read Spanish), this webpage<br /><br />http://212.101.74.114/index.jsp?nodo=61<br /><br />tells you the exact details of what you need to do to become a professional soccer coach in Spain (click on the links inside the page to see the "courses" you are supposed to take. My favorite one: "Teoría y Sociología del Deporte" -Theory and Sociology of Sports"- maybe they seat and read Slavoj Žižek).<br /><br />The obviously crazy thing is that the requirements are tougher for being a coach of a professional team than for a children team (one would think that professional teams are sufficiently well-informed and experienced as not to require a certification of the quality of the coach by an external agency). Jesus Fernandez-Villaverdenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-15582790114421540212015-01-29T20:14:58.248-06:002015-01-29T20:14:58.248-06:00As I was just getting immersed in economics, I hea...As I was just getting immersed in economics, I heard the story of Teofilo Cubillas, a star with Peru at the 1970 World Cup who was voted one of FIFA's Top 100 Footballers of all time. He is also one of three players to score five or more goals in two Cups. He retired to Florida and couldn't get a National Coach's license from whatever the U.S. Soccer authority was at the time. An absurd outcome. He became depressed and did some itinerant coaching, and he wasn't able to help as many US players as he could have if an arbitrary licensure ignored his proven athletic knowledge and accomplishments. Eapen Chackohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16989320987808898240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-62908567017416457032015-01-29T19:21:06.383-06:002015-01-29T19:21:06.383-06:00"Supply competition is the key to reaping the..."Supply competition is the key to reaping the benefits of markets."<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Antitrust_Act<br /><br />Does anti-trust legislation increase or decrease competition?FRestlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09440916887619001941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-582368152716771238.post-63370114933796751072015-01-29T19:15:18.789-06:002015-01-29T19:15:18.789-06:00A nice, thoughtful blog entry, thank you.
Your ...A nice, thoughtful blog entry, thank you. <br /><br />Your excerpt of this NYT column, however, omits the author's assertion that professional licensure is beneficial. That's always been my belief. I want my brain surgeon to be properly licensed. <br /><br />Sure, we can eliminate some of this inefficiency. But, would you draw the line at the preservation of professional licensure? If I recall correctly, Milton Friedman wanted to dispense with that as well. I think that's going too far.JZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12994372644670111315noreply@blogger.com