Daniel Davies of the D-Squared Digest reviews the bidding on the economic history of lighthouses and the famous Coase/Samuelson controversy about public goods. Yes, lighthouses were provided by private entrepreneurs, not by public agencies. But the payments from shipowners were imposed by law, not negotiated, and the system didn’t work very well. Score one for the interventionist side.
I’ve been wondering who on the Web was writing as clearly and entertainingly about microeconomics as Brad DeLong does about macro. Question answered. [Thanks to Electrolite for the link.]
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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