NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: IPI Report: NN Makes Economic Sense (with rebuttal)
----- Forwarded message from Steve Holton <sph0lt0n@gmail.com> ----- Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:35:36 -0500 From: Steve Holton <sph0lt0n@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [ NNSquad ] IPI Report: NN Makes Economic Sense (with rebuttal) I believe the thread which sparked this posting to the NN list began here. http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/upd-discuss/2010q1/002051.html Just for context, since subscribers to NNSquad alone might not understand where this all comes from. On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 4:17 PM, Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> wrote: > > ----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave@farber.net> ----- > > Date: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:08:12 -0500 > From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> > Subject: [IP] IPI Report: NN Makes Economic Sense read both parts > Reply-To: dave@farber.net > To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> > > > > > From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> > Date: January 14, 2010 9:47:34 AM EST > To: "Jeffrey A. Williams" <jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com> > Cc: seth.johnson@RealMeasures.dyndns.org, ecommerce@lists.essential.org, > upd-discuss@lists.essential.org, A2K@lists.essential.org > Subject: Re: [A2k] Re: [Upd-discuss] IPI Report: NN Makes Economic Sense > Reply-To: rms@gnu.org > > Very true. However there has never been, nor will there ever > be absolute economic efficiency or fairness. As such a ballance > must be sought that everyone can live with, a very difficult > task to achieve and maintain. > > These days, we have a lot of economic efficiency in production and > very little fairness. As a result, lots of production goes into > activities that are harmful in the long term, and most of the world's > people get no benefit from all the production. > > Clearly we need increased concern with fairness. > _______________________________________________ > Upd-discuss mailing list > Upd-discuss@lists.essential.org > http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/upd-discuss > > > From: "Faulhaber, Gerald" <faulhabe@wharton.upenn.edu> > Date: January 14, 2010 11:28:38 AM EST > To: David Farber <dave@farber.net> > Subject: RE: [A2k] Re: [Upd-discuss] IPI Report: NN Makes Economic Sense > > Interesting points, most of which are wrong > > 1 NN doesn't make economic sense in a world of price discrimination, > as we point out in our paper. There is no reason for ISPs to discourage > entry by application/content providers, and a profit-maximizing > price-discriminating ISP would certainly encourage small entrepreneurs with > a low or zero price, since it results in more content which is more > attractive to subscription customers. > > 2 Much of the world's production actually does go to the poor (or > "emerging middle class"). The economic revolution in India and China (and > East Asia generally) is all about this. Has yet to happen in Africa and the > Middle East. > > 3 Efficiency (in production and allocation) is all about incentives; > if we get the incentives (and the markets) right, the private sector > unleashes incredible energy. I think the problems with Africa and the > Middle East has much more to do with (bad) incentives than with fairness. > > 4 Fairness is much studied by economists; lots of books/articles in > the 1980s on fairness and efficiency tradeoffs. Ed Zajac and Hal Varian, > among many others, have written on the topic. Amartya Sen is the leading > social justice theorist, and has just come out with a new book; Sen is > always worth reading. Generally, an excessive focus on fairness tends to > blunt incentives, so nations don't grow as fast (India pre-1998). A smaller > pie gets divided more equally, but it's a smaller pie. Incentives are what > makes the pie grow. > > There are ways to get the best of fairness and efficiency, but generally > the policies we pursue are the wrong ones (e.g., trade policy). > > Professor Emeritus Gerald Faulhaber > Business and Public Policy Dept. > Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania > Philadelphia, PA 19104 > Professor Emeritus of Law > University of Pennsylvania > > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > > > > > > ------------------------------------------- > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now > RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ > Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com > > ----- End forwarded message ----- > -- Steve Holton sph0lt0n@gmail.com ----- End forwarded message -----