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Flash Forward is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) Hosted and produced by award winning science journalist Rose Eveleth, each episode combines audio drama and journalism to go deep on potential tomorrows, and uncovers what those futures might re ...
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Middlemen are not parasites but essential "engineers of exchange" who create value by connecting buyers and sellers who might never find each other otherwise.
• The word "monger" (and Munger) comes from a Saxon root--Mancgere-- meaning trader or merchant
• Middlemen historically seen as parasites for buying cheap and selling dear without improving products
• 11th-century "mancgere" traders defended their value despite not changing the goods they sold
• RA Radford's 1945 POW camp study shows how middlemen increase beneficial exchanges
• The prison camp padre who traded his way to wealth, while making everyone else better off!!
• Arbitrage improves market efficiency by exploiting price differences, and reducing differences in price so that people can rely on the price they are offered rather than having to bargain or comparison shop.
• Middlemen only become problematic when they control exclusive information or "rents"
The first "middleman" episode of TAITC: May 2023....
R.A. Radford, "The Economics of a POW Camp."
M.C. Munger, "Market Makers or Parasites."
Book'o'da'week: Country Music USA by Bill C. Malone, published by University of Texas Press.
If you have questions or comments, or want to suggest a future topic, email the show at [email protected] !
You can follow Mike Munger on Twitter at @mungowitz
Chapters
1. Introduction to Middlemen (00:00:00)
2. The Saxon Origins of Monger (00:02:10)
3. Economic Value of the Middleman (00:05:13)
4. Prison Camp Economics Example (00:08:32)
5. The Exploitation Risk (00:11:40)
6. Listener Letter and Book Recommendation (00:13:45)
54 episodes
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