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PODCAST

The Answer Is Transaction Costs

"The real price of everything is the toil and trouble of acquiring it." -Adam Smith (WoN, Bk I, Chapter 5)In which the Knower of Important Things shows how transaction costs explain literally everything. Plus TWEJ, and answers to letters.If YOU have questions, submit them to our email at taitc.email@gmail.comThere are two kinds of episodes here:1. For the most part, episodes June-August are weekly, short (<20 mins), and address a few topics.2. Episodes September-May are longer (1 hour), and

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All Episodes

56:55

Curation Bubbles, Verification, and the Splintering...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2025/03/26

Send us a text What happens when we no longer consume scarce information through trusted, verified institutions, but instead through an abundance of unbundled content without context or curation? John Green, rising star in political science from Duke University, takes us on a tour of the rapidly evolving landscape of political information. Green challenges conventional wisdom about how ideologies function, arguing they're not so much coherent philosophical systems as they are socially ...

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65:12

The Socialist Generation Debate

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2025/02/25

Send us a text Join economist Peter Bettke as he discusses how transaction costs impact market efficiency and our everyday decisions. We delve deep into historical examples, particularly the Soviet Union, to highlight the consequences of centralized planning versus individual market actions. Through engaging anecdotes and rigorous analysis, Bettke reveals why understanding transaction costs is essential for navigating the complexities of modern economies. We also explore the evolving d...

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63:51

Transaction Costs and Constitutions: India's...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2025/01/28

Send us a textWhat if transaction costs could shape entire political and economic systems? Join us for an insightful discussion with Shruti Rajagopalan, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, as she takes us through her fascinating journey from the University of Delhi to George Mason University. Her research on India's economic liberalization shaped her understanding of economics and public choice theory, and now she is looking at the Indian Constitution as a subject of study. She s...

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62:16

Political Capitalism and the Power of Elites: Randall...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/12/24

Send us a textThis episode explores the intersection of democracy and capitalism, focusing on the concept of political capitalism and its relation to cronyism. Randall Holcomb discusses transaction costs, charismatic leadership, and critiques the idea that democracy and separation of powers inherently checks coercion, stressing the need for competing elites to foster accountability.• Transaction costs hinder citizen engagement in political processes • Political capitalism defined as capitalis...

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61:27

Prison Gangs and Governance: David Skarbek

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/11/19

Send us a textCurious about how the world of prison economics operates? Get ready to uncover a hidden universe with our guest, David Skarbek, a leading voice in political economy. David takes us on a captivating journey from his early days in construction to his groundbreaking research at George Mason University, where he was inspired to explore the economics of unconventional spaces. His insights reveal the sophisticated systems of governance designed by prison gangs to maintain order and ma...

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53:20

Certainty, Common Law, and Statutory Law: Todd...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/10/22

Send us a textTodd Zywicky, professor at George Mason's Scalia Law School, challenges some conventional legal doctrine, taking up the views of Bruno Leone and Friedrich Hayek. What if the legal world has underestimated the power of spontaneous order? Todd's intellectual journey sheds light on how these groundbreaking ideas contrast sharply with the dominant constructivist views shaping contemporary legal thought. Todd offers perspectives on the role of intuition and reasonableness in the cour...

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54:31

From Law to Legislation: A Natural Process

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/09/30

Send us a textHave you ever wondered how common law rules and market prices both "emerge"? Inspired by the works of James Buchanan, F.A. Hayek, and Bruno Leoni, Donald Boudreaux explains how decentralized processes can lead to the emergence of effective norms, such as queuing and speeding rules, without the need for top-down legislation. We discuss the significance of individuals spending their own money versus others' and how these incentives impact societal outcomes, highlighting the deep w...

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23:09

Why Bosses Don't Wear Bunny Slippers: TAITC

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/08/27

Ever wondered why firms exist in a market-driven economy? This month's episode promises to unravel this question by diving deep into Ronald Coase's seminal 1937 paper, "The Nature of the Firm." Join me, Mike Munger, as I reflect on our first 16 months of podcasting and share the insights and wisdom that have shaped our journey. You'll gain a thorough understanding of how transaction costs influence economic behaviors and organizational structures, with fascinating examples from Richard Langlo...

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18:17

Price Gouging or Price Information?

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/08/20

Can high prices during emergencies actually save lives? Using North Carolina as an example, we dissect the economic and legal implications of these laws, exploring the ambiguities in terms like "unreasonably excessive" and the chilling effect on commerce. Discover how artificially low prices can lead to resource misallocation, discourage stockpiling, and hinder the transportation of vital supplies during crises. Allowing higher prices is, perhaps surprisingly, the only way to get low pr...

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24:29

All Housing is Affordable Housing

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/08/13

Are housing regulations making affordable homes a pipe dream? We promise you'll gain a deeper understanding of how transaction costs and regulatory hurdles impede new housing development, frustrating both market responses and the dreams of potential homeowners. We'll explore how the very laws intended to protect affordable housing often backfire, pushing developers toward luxury projects instead.Vicki Been; Ingrid Gould Ellen; Katherine O’Regan, 2018. "Supply Skepticism," https://furmancenter...

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20:31

We Get Letters!

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/08/06

What is it that beach parking lots are actually selling? Why do beer bottles cost more than cans? And just what are costs of the thing, as opposed to the costs of selling or buying the thing? Can you really separate them out?Mass MOCA: "Wilco's Solid Sound" Music Festival https://massmoca.org/event/solid-sound-2024/"To Consumers, ALL Costs are Transaction Costs." AIER, by Michael Munger. https://www.aier.org/article/to-consumers-all-costs-are-transaction-costs/Yogi Berra "quotes" (mostly attr...

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23:17

Shibumi! Legit Idea, or Shady Dealings?

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/07/30

You can throw shade, but can you own the idea of shade? Shibumi's sunshade has become an essential part of the coastal landscape, but that has sparked some fierce legal battles. We'll talk patents, beginning with the evolution of shade solutions from caveman ingenuity to Shibumi's wind-powered marvel. Plus, you'll get the inside scoop on the recent lawsuit where Shibumi defended its designs against Beach Shade LLC, demonstrating the high stakes of protecting intellectual property in today's c...

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25:56

Slavery, Indentured Servitude, and the Problem of...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/07/23

Not everyone realizes that the modern financial system has enabled us to end historical practices such as indentured servitude and apprenticeship. This episode uncovers how financial systems tackled market failures and transaction costs, drawing on insights from Jeffrey Hodgson's "The Wealth of a Nation: Institutional Foundations of English Capitalism." We'll explore the evolution of borrowing against future earnings and how modern financial institutions have streamlined processes that ...

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26:31

Bees, Oranges, and Externalities: The Answer is...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/07/16

Bees and Valencia oranges from my family's farm in rural central Florida provide a snapshot of externalities and transaction costs. A local beekeeper wasn't just a boon for our crops but also an illustration of Arthur Pigou's theories on the divergence between supply price and marginal supply price. Real-world practices, such as apple orchard owners paying for pollination services while beekeepers pay for the privilege of orange blossom honey, reveal how market dynamics naturally b...

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20:10

Parking Lots, Transaction Costs of the Price...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/07/09

Two seemingly similar parking lots at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, couldn't be more different in the emergent behaviors they foster. From the orderly lines of the 85-space lot to the chaotic dynamics of the smaller 19-space circular lot, discover how price rationing, queue formation, and transaction costs play critical roles in these everyday systems.Things take s a quirky turn with the arrival of a man in a pork pie fedora who disrupts these parking norms, buying spaces directly from ...

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14:44

Monkey See, Monkey App! And IP Walks Into a Bar....

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/07/02

The method of much of social science is "comparative statics." There's an amazing natura experiment going on, after Hurricane Maria changed the environment for the rhesus macaques of Cayo Santiago. Sometimes, you need a simulation to understand something is only obvious after the fact. These primates, known for their fierce competition and rigid hierarchies, expanded their social networks and reduced aggression to endure the island's new, harsh environment.Plus, a politically incorrect TWEJ, ...

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16:30

Baseball, Dollar Dogs, Apple Pie and Transaction Costs

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/06/25

Why would a baseball stadium limit the number of $1 hot dogs per customer on Dollar Hot Dog Night? Find out as we work on this intriguing question posed by a curious high school student named HJ. Through the lens of transaction costs, we reveal how these promotional events are less about selling hot dogs and more about enhancing the overall (cheap!) game experience to attract new fans. Using a real-life example from a recent Mets game, we explore how such promotions can change the crowd dynam...

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24:11

Dam Shame: It's not easy being government

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/06/18

I have been interested lately in a paper Bill Keech and I were working on a decade ago, It was called "The Anatomy of Government Failure."Was AC Pigou the first "Public Choice" theorist?There are two transaction costs problems in the background: 1. Information asymmetries and the problem of ignorance2. Incentive problems and institutional designMarket failure is actually a thing. And it can be complicated: Kleinman and Teles, "Market and Non-Market Failures." But so is government failur...

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23:18

Corner Crossing Conundrum: Trespassing, Airspace, and...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/06/11

What if crossing a mere corner of private land could land you in legal hot water? This episode tackles the thorny issue of corner crossing, where public and private lands meet at a single point, creating potential trespassing conflicts. We'll dissect Dave Schmitz's insights on the limits of property rights and the Roman law doctrine of ad coelum, which extends property rights from the heavens to the earth's core. Through landmark cases like Hinman v. Pacific Air Transport and Jacques v. Steen...

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17:15

The Riddle is Transaction Costs: That's What the...

The Answer Is Transaction Costs ·

2024/06/04

Can a single $100 bill solve an entire town's debt crisis? This riddle is a window into transaction costs. I rely on Jeffrey Rogers Hummel's insights, adding a few thoughts of my own. And a cool letter: Ever wondered why you haggle for a car but not for your morning Starbucks's coffee? Plus, a book recommendation: Nobel Prize-winning economist Edmund Phelps' "My Journeys in Economic Theory," a compelling read that blends economic insights with political theory.Links:David Henderson...

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