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The announcement from Samsung that it has found the secret to 5G wireless reminds us that the technology revolution is moving at an amazing pace. 5G, which Samsung says it aims to commercialize by 2020, would enable consumers to download vast data files such as high-definition video in a matter … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Category: Internet, Quick Takes, Wireless Regulation |
 Leave a commentTom Lenard (Technology Policy Institute) and Larry White (NYU Stern School) raised in interesting issue in Politico this week. Will broadcast television survive its technological, economic and cultural obsolescence much longer? Equally to the point, would we be better off without it? TV broadcasters are spectrum hogs, … The U.S. debate over immigration reform got a little bit nastier recently with publication of a Heritage Foundation report concluding that immigrants – documented or not – who haven’t finished high school are going to cost taxpayers a lot of money. We are deeply skeptical about the assumptions underlying … The Financial Times recently published commentary by Jacob Weisberg deploring Amazon.com’s use of political and financial muscle to avoid collecting sales taxes on out-of-state purchases. Amazon, he notes, only recently relented because the company sees greater advantage in positioning warehouses closer to customers. Wall Street Journal writer Gordon Crovitz … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Category: Economic Theory, Internet, Internet regulation, Quick Takes, Tax Policy |
Leave a commentYoung adults have done a better job than older Americans of reducing debt since the Great Recession, but they’re deferring some traditional parts of the American Dream to do so. That may be good personal budgeting, but the spending pullback is likely one reason for anemic economic growth. Once again, European policymakers are divided on a major issue. And this time, we feel their pain because our own views are divided, too. The issue is climate policy, specifically the EU’s rejection this week of a proposal from Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegard to revise Europe’s “cap-and-trade” system for limiting … Political rhetoric in U.S. political campaigns suggests that factory jobs are all fleeing overseas, but a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) suggests the facts aren’t quite that simple. There’s no doubt that factory work accounts for a shrinking share of total employment, but CRS says the … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Category: Economic Statistics, Economic Theory, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentIt turns out that a court ruling rejecting New York Mayor Bloomberg’s bid to crack down on supersized soft drinks may have saved the Mayor from regulatory backfire. At least that’s the suggestion from a new study that suggests that food sellers would have responded with menu options that would … “We’re canceling our membership in the out-of-touch wireless-carrier-club,” proclaimed T-Mobile in announcing its Simple Choice pricing plan. That’s good news for consumers in the sense that more options are always – well, almost always – better than fewer. And the switch has probably already accomplished what T-Mobile set … Mark Twain once called the reports of his death greatly exaggerated, which is how we feel about competition in the telecom sector. Despite the protestations of those who keep urging new government regulation to assure continued choices in cable TV and wireless, the market keeps telling us that competition is … |
Professor Dieter Helm (Oxford) is a very fine fly fisherman, and an even better economist. If you haven’t done so, take a look at his new book “The Carbon Crunch: How We Are Getting Climate Change Wrong — and How to Fix It” for a bit of unconventional wisdom. He argues that politicians and the general public have not shown any real interest in addressing climate change. Helm argues that places like Europe should focus on setting a price for carbon that would cover consumption (and not just production), and that fracking could be a good “bridge” technology for reducing consumption of coal. The book is readable and insightful for those interested in the inside track on climate policy. 
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