Smartphone duopoly graphic #econ3 – Samsung, Microsoft, Blackberry now merely fringe players in the global market pic.twitter.com/MJ6fGW6h9V
— Tutor2u Geoff (FRSA) (@tutor2uGeoff) February 27, 2015
Creative destruction versus the Guardian: A £2-a-month levy on broadband could save our newspapers
20 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, entrepreneurship, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: legacy media, The Guardian
A small levy on UK broadband providers – no more than £2 a month on each subscriber’s bill – could be distributed to news providers in proportion to their UK online readership. This would solve the financial problems of quality newspapers, whose readers are not disappearing, but simply migrating online.
via A £2-a-month levy on broadband could save our newspapers | Media | The Guardian.
Did The Guardian just come out in support of a poll tax? Most people have broadband, so it’s the same practical effect?
Actively managed share funds are on the way out
20 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in entrepreneurship, financial economics, industrial organisation, survivor principle Tags: active investing, efficient markets hypothesis, passive investing, William F. Shape
After costs, the return on the average actively managed dollar will be less than the return on the average passively managed dollar for any time period.
—William F. Sharpe, 1990 Nobel Laureate
4 out of 5 actively managed fund portfolios underperformed all index fund portfolios in all scenarios tested.
via The tide is turning as investors switch from high-cost, actively managed funds to index funds for lower costs, higher returns » AEI | Carpe Diem Blog » AEIdeas and Mutual Fund Expenses | Lion’s Share.
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Managerial Econ: Top 5 problem-solving mistakes by MBA’s
19 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, managerial economics, organisational economics, personnel economics, survivor principle Tags: entrepreneurial alertness, management, MBA
“Avoid jargon” because most people misuse it. Force yourself to spell out what you mean in simple plain English. It will help your thinking and communication.
“What about the organizational design?” Figure out what is causing the problem, and then think about how to avoid the problem. A lot of papers identified a bad decision, and then suggested reversing it. But they neglected to address the issue of why the bad decision was made, and how to make sure the same mistakes wouldn’t be made in the future.
“Don’t define the problem as the lack of your solution.” For example, if the problem is “the lack of centralized purchasing,” then you are locked into a solution of “centralized purchasing.” Instead, define the problem as “high acquisition cost” and then examine “centralized purchasing” vs. “decentralized purchasing” (or some other alternative) as two solutions to the problem.
“What is the trade-off?” Every solution has costs as well as benefits. If you list only the benefits, it makes your analysis seem like an ex post rationalization of a foregone decision, rather than a careful weighing of the benefits and costs. If you spent some time thinking through the tradeoffs, show it. If not, then you should.
“Which language is this?” I write this when I get gobbledygook written in the passive voice with big words that don’t mean anything. Instead write simple declarative sentences that clarify rather than obfuscate. Form is not a substitute for content.
via Managerial Econ: Top 5 problem-solving mistakes by MBA’s.
An ice-cold whisky dispenser, 1950s.
18 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
Media bias versus media vigilance
17 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, industrial organisation, survivor principle Tags: media bias
Economics as Incredulity : Working conditions during the Industrial Revolution
16 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
The Law of Crappy Managers
14 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, managerial economics, occupational choice, organisational economics, personnel economics, survivor principle Tags: Peter Principle
The media market works: US media is slightly to the left of centre
12 Feb 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, industrial organisation, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, survivor principle Tags: demand for social insurance, gender wage gap, media bias
As discussed before, to survive in a competitive market, media outlets must serve that market as best they can.
The reader or viewer that is most likely to turn off or otherwise switch to another activity are women, often mothers. Women tend to be to the left than me because of their greater demand for social insurance.
To keep their most marginal viewers, media outlets pitch their stories slightly left of centre, aimed at women who are most likely to switch off if they are not seeing what they want to see.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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