Economic surplus
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Uber has reached 15000 drivers in Australia. If this growth continues, with Uber, traditional taxis and other services all competing to drive us around our cities, then we will have a metropolitan transport…
The Court of Appeals in the US has ratified Apple’s guilt in the e-book case. It was a two-to-one decision by the three judges on the Court. And it provides two lessons for Australia. First, when industries…
The problem with economic reform is not ‘what to do’ but ‘how to do it’. This is highlighted by the recent Competition Policy Review. Ian Harper and the Review team highlighted a range of useful reforms…
Free-to-Air (FTA) television is in trouble. But the reasons are not as simple as you might think. The trouble is clear. Ten Network Holdings share price has tanked from around $1.50 in late 2010 to about…
The Federal Opposition has released a discussion paper on the sharing economy. It covers a range of issues: protection of workers, consumer protection, equity and accessibility, taxation and state/federal…
New internet businesses are transforming dusty old industries. The current wave includes Uber (hire cars), Airbnb (accommodation) and Freelancer (labour services). But there have been plenty of others…
Standards are a key part of technical progress and for the increased use of renewable energy. Solar power provides an obvious example. If a photo-voltaic unit is used to put power back into the electricity…
The rules around the NBN have moved rapidly over Christmas. On December 14th, the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, released new rules requiring all providers of high-speed broadband services…
It is sometimes claimed that economists are obsessed by competition. The reason is simple. Competition matters, a lot! Petrol provides a great example of the effects of local competition. Costco entered…
The draft report by the Competition Policy Review has signalled a revolution in the provision of human services. But the interest has all been elsewhere. That is not surprising. The draft report is more…