The Answer Is Transaction Costs
"The real price of everything is the toil and trouble of acquiring it." -Adam Smith (WoN, Bk I, Chapter 5)
In which the Knower of Important Things shows how transaction costs explain literally everything. Plus TWEJ, and answers to letters.
If YOU have questions, submit them to our email at taitc.email@gmail.com
There are two kinds of episodes here:
1. For the most part, episodes June-August are weekly, short (<20 mins), and address a few topics.
2. Episodes September-May are longer (1 hour), and monthly, with an interview with a guest.
Finally, a quick note: This podcast is NOT for Stacy Hockett. He wanted you to know that.....
The Answer Is Transaction Costs
Lettuce Again, and Lumber
How is buying lettuce like buying lumber? Each is idiosyncratic, and has to be sorted. Imposing the sorting costs on the buyer is actually a way of price discriminating.
Clement Atlee and Winston Churchill, for the best TWEJ ever.
And a cool new letter, about using transaction costs to separate by type, when type is "private information."
Links:
- "Measurement Costs and Pricing in Retail Produce"
- Clement Atlee: https://blog.oup.com/2017/06/clement-attlee-timeline/
- Atlee and Churchill: https://www.amazon.com/Attlee-Churchill-Allies-Adversaries-Peace/dp/1848876602
- Atlee speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLuIlkT4gV4
- SOURCE for the joke: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/08/13/working-well/
If you have questions or comments, or want to suggest a future topic, email the show at taitc.email@gmail.com !
You can follow Mike Munger on Twitter at @mungowitz