Should governments subsidize or build broadband networks? This question is being posed throughout the US; Brian Lambert summarizes the Minnesota landscape in “How the Legislature is cheating Greater Minnesota on broadband.” Economists aver that to answer this question, we need to know whether the rate of return to private businesses investing in broadband networks is less than or equal to the … [Read more...]
Insights from current economic research
Every Monday I watch for an e-mail with the subject line “The Latest NBER Research.” Inside there are links to new working papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) across all of the topics economists analyze. I always learn something interesting, especially with regard to real-world policy making. I’ve often wondered, why doesn’t someone summarize the cool stuff in these … [Read more...]