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Christopher S. Yoo

Bio: Christopher S. Yoo is an academic researcher from University of Pennsylvania. The author has contributed to research in topics: The Internet & Net neutrality. The author has an hindex of 22, co-authored 151 publications receiving 1775 citations. Previous affiliations of Christopher S. Yoo include Indiana University & Vanderbilt University.


Papers
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Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, Yoo proposes a "network diversity" approach that would use product differentiation to encourage investment and to mitigate the supply-side and demand-side scale economies associated with the impact of up-front, fixed costs and by network economic effects.
Abstract: In this Article, Professor Yoo takes issue with the emerging scholarly consensus in favor of "network neutrality," which would prohibit network owners from employing proprietary protocols or entering into exclusivity agreements with content providers that would reduce the transparency of the Internet. Economic theory suggests that network neutrality advocates are focusing on the wrong policy problem. Rather than directing attention on the market for Internet content and applications, the segments of the industry that are the most competitive and the most likely to remain that way, communications policy would be better served if the focus were placed on the segment of the industry that is the most concentrated and protected by entry barriers, which in the case of broadband is the last mile. Furthermore, network neutrality is something of a misnomer. Standardizing protocols would inevitably favor certain applications over others and would place the government in the unfortunate position of picking technological winners and losers. The regulatory tools needed to implement network neutrality are also likely to prove ineffective in a world in which communications are increasingly decommodified and in which technological change has become increasingly dynamic. Most importantly, network neutrality threatens to make things worse by reinforcing the sources of market failure in the last mile and dampening incentives to invest in alternative network capacity. Instead, Professor Yoo proposes a "network diversity" approach that would use product differentiation to encourage investment and to mitigate the supply-side and demand-side scale economies associated with the impact of up-front, fixed costs and by network economic effects. Network diversity can thus make it possible for three different last-mile networks to coexist: one optimized for traditional Internet applications such as e-mail and website access, another for security-sensitive applications like e-commerce, and a third for time-sensitive applications such as VoIP. Although the welfare implications and institutional considerations are complex, in the end Professor Yoo concludes that the policy balance tips in favor of network diversity.

123 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, Yoo draws on the economics of congestion to propose a new analytical framework for assessing such restrictions and concludes that when transaction costs render metering network-usage uneconomical, imposing restrictions on bandwidth-intensive activities may well enhance economic welfare by preventing high volume users from imposing uncompensated costs on low-volume users.
Abstract: The Supreme Court's Brand X decision has reignited the debate over "network neutrality," which would limit broadband networks' authority to impose restrictions on end users' ability to access content, run applications, and attach devices and to charge content and application providers higher prices for higher levels of quality of service. In this Article, Professor Christopher Yoo draws on the economics of congestion to propose a new analytical framework for assessing such restrictions. He concludes that when transaction costs render metering network-usage uneconomical, imposing restrictions on bandwidth-intensive activities may well enhance economic welfare by preventing high-volume users from imposing uncompensated costs onlow-volume users. Usage of bandwidth-intensive services can thus serve as a useful proxy for congestion externalities just a sport usage served as a proxy for consumption of lighthouse services in Coase's classic critique of the economic parable of the lighthouse. In addition, content delivery networks and other commercial caching systems represent still another innovative way to manage the problems associated with congestion and latency that would before closed by network neutrality. Furthermore, allowing network owners to differentiate their services can serve as a form of price discrimination that can mitigate the sources of market failure that require regulatory intervention in the first place. This frame work suggests that broadband policy would be better served by embracing a network diversity principle that would eschew a one-size-fits-all approach and would allow network providers to experiment with different institutional forms until it can be shown that a particular practice is harmingc ompetition. At most, concerns that telephone companies may prevent end users from using their digital subscriber line(DSL) connections to access Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provide support for targeted regulatory intervention. They do not justify a blanket prohibition of end user restrictions that network neutrality proponents envision.

109 citations

Book
02 Sep 2008
TL;DR: Calabresi and Yoo as discussed by the authors examined the actual practice of all forty-three presidential administrations, from George Washington to George W. Bush, to determine whether the Constitution creates a strongly unitary executive.
Abstract: This book is the first to undertake a detailed historical and legal examination of presidential power and the theory of the unitary executive. This theory, that the Constitution gives the president the power to remove and control all policy-making subordinates in the executive branch, has been the subject of heated debate since the Reagan years. To determine whether the Constitution creates a strongly unitary executive, Steven Calabresi and Christopher Yoo look at the actual practice of all forty-three presidential administrations, from George Washington to George W. Bush. They argue that all forty-three presidents have been committed proponents of the theory of the unitary executive, and they explore the meaning and implications of this finding.

85 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, Wu and Yoo engage in a lively debate over the merits of network neutrality that reviews the leading arguments on both sides of the issue, and conclude that "network neutrality has emerged as one of the highest profile issues in telecommunications and Internet policy."
Abstract: Network neutrality has emerged as one of the highest profile issues in telecommunications and Internet policy last year. Not only did it play a pivotal role in both houses of Congress during debates over proposed communications reform legislation; it also emerged as a key consideration during the Federal Communications Commission consideration of the recent SBC-AT&T, Verizon-MCI, and AT&T-BellSouth mergers. In the following exchange, Professors Tim Wu and Christopher Yoo engage in a lively debate over the merits of network neutrality that reviews the leading arguments on both sides of the issue.

79 citations

Posted Content
TL;DR: An initial exploratory analysis of cloud computing’s architectural and policy implications is offered, introducing key cloud computing concepts, such as service oriented architectures, thin clients, and virtualization, and discusses the leading delivery models and deployment strategies being pursued by cloud computing providers.
Abstract: Cloud computing has emerged as perhaps the hottest development in information technology. Despite all of the attention that it has garnered, existing analyses focus almost exclusively on the issues that surround data privacy without exploring cloud computing’s architectural and policy implications. This article offers an initial exploratory analysis in that direction. It begins by introducing key cloud computing concepts, such as service-oriented architectures, thin clients, and virtualization, and discusses the leading delivery models and deployment strategies that are being pursued by cloud computing providers. It next analyzes the economics of cloud computing in terms of reducing costs, transforming capital expenditures into operating expenditures, aggregating demand, increasing reliability, and reducing latency. It then discusses the architectural implications of cloud computing for access networking (focusing on bandwidth, reliability, quality of service, and ubiquity) and data center interconnectivity (focusing on bandwidth, reliability, security and privacy, control over routing policies, standardization, and metering and payment). It closes by offering a few observations on the impact of cloud computing on the industry structure for data centers, server-related technologies, router-based technologies, and access networks, as well as its implications for regulation.

67 citations


Cited by
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Journal Article
TL;DR: Thaler and Sunstein this paper described a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications, as a general approach to how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society.
Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

3,435 citations

Book
29 Aug 2016
TL;DR: The Black Box Society argues that we all need to be able to do so and to set limits on how big data affects our lives as mentioned in this paper. But who connects the dots about what firms are doing with this information?
Abstract: Every day, corporations are connecting the dots about our personal behaviorsilently scrutinizing clues left behind by our work habits and Internet use. The data compiled and portraits created are incredibly detailed, to the point of being invasive. But who connects the dots about what firms are doing with this information? The Black Box Society argues that we all need to be able to do soand to set limits on how big data affects our lives. Hidden algorithms can make (or ruin) reputations, decide the destiny of entrepreneurs, or even devastate an entire economy. Shrouded in secrecy and complexity, decisions at major Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms were long assumed to be neutral and technical. But leaks, whistleblowers, and legal disputes have shed new light on automated judgment. Self-serving and reckless behavior is surprisingly common, and easy to hide in code protected by legal and real secrecy. Even after billions of dollars of fines have been levied, underfunded regulators may have only scratched the surface of this troubling behavior. Frank Pasquale exposes how powerful interests abuse secrecy for profit and explains ways to rein them in. Demanding transparency is only the first step. An intelligible society would assure that key decisions of its most important firms are fair, nondiscriminatory, and open to criticism. Silicon Valley and Wall Street need to accept as much accountability as they impose on others.

1,342 citations