True, rural residents have less access to high-speed Internet services than their urban counterparts. But we’re sceptical that’s a bad thing: It costs considerably more to provide broadband to low-density localities, and it’s far from clear that the social value of extending access exceeds the costs of providing it. But …
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By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: FCC, National Broadband Plan, Rural Internet service | Category: Internet regulation, Quick Takes |
 Leave a commentWe’re big fans This American Life, the NPR show that hardly ever fails to inform and surprise. So it’s great to be able to plug an episode “When Patents Attack,” a smart, balanced assessment of the benefits and costs of the patent system – in particular, the impact of former … Thanks to Michael Levi, the always-interesting energy/climate blogger at the Council on Foreign Relations, for pointing out a neat new analysis of the cost of meeting the CAFE standards for cars. According to Soren Anderson (Michigan State) and James Salee (Chicago), it’s possible to infer this … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: CAFE Standard, fuel economy, James Salee, Michael Levi, Soren Anderson | Category: Energy Regulation, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentWe join the 99.974 percent of economists in applauding the Senate’s bipartisan vote to repeal the 45-cent-a-gallon tax credit reaped by ethanol refiners and the 54-cent-a-gallon tariff on ethanol imports. That doesn’t mean we’re done with the credit, of course: The refiners, led by ADM, will have a thing … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: ADM, E10, ethanol, ethanol tariff, tax credit | Category: Quick Takes, Tax Subsidies |
Leave a commentCalifornia’s Public Utilities Commission has decided to investigate the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, making no bones about the PUC’s concern that the merged companies’ combined market share in the state (47 percent) would be anti-competitive. Maybe, but there’s an irony here. AT&T’s goal is to use T-Mobile’s surplus spectrum … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Antitrust, AT&T, California Public Utilities Commission, merger, Spectrum, T-Mobile | Category: Quick Takes, Telecommunications Regulation |
Leave a commentWe’re delighted that Pres. Obama has nominated John Bryson, the former CEO of Edison International (the parent of Southern California Edison), to run the Commerce Department. Bryson is that rare bird – a feet-on-the-ground corporate leader who is committed to balancing economic and environmental goals. On second thought, … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Commerce Secretary, Edison International, John Bryson, Southern California Edison | Category: Environment, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentThere’s plenty to worry about in the implementation of California’s ambitious cap-and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – in particular, whether it will make the state economy less competitive. But as Harvard’s Rob Stavins explains “environmental justice” (the prospect that the poor will be stuck with … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: AB32, California Air Resources Board, cap-and-trade, environmental justice, Robert Stavins | Category: Climate Change, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentEverybody agrees that distracted drivers are bad drivers, whether the source of the distraction is a cell phone or a Double Whopper with Cheese. The issue is what to do about it. The Economist suggests that distracted driving should be treated like drunk driving with a mix of tough … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: distracted driving, drunk driving, Google, The Economist | Category: Quick Takes, Telecommunications Regulation |
Leave a commentFederal law tries to have it both ways, allowing the cable companies to own cable channels, but barring them from discriminating against rival channels. Trouble is, this puts the FCC in the position of calling balls and strikes on what constitutes discrimination. And the commission’s decision last year to reverse … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: anti-discrimination rules, FCC, Robert Litan, Time Warner | Category: Quick Takes, Telecommunications Regulation |
Leave a commentMichael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations reports that the budget deal bars the Energy Department from collecting much of the data that both public and private analysts use for forecasting energy consumption and production, not to mention greenhouse gas emissions. The idea, of course, is to … |
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