Showing papers by "Gary S. Becker published in 1991"
TL;DR: The authors tried to explain why many successful restaurants, plays, sporting events, and other activities do not raise prices even with persistent excess demand, assuming that demand by a typical consumer is positively related to quantities demanded by other consumers.
Abstract: This note tries to explain why many successful restaurants, plays, sporting events, and other activities do not raise prices even with persistent excess demand. My approach assumes that demand by a typical consumer is positively related to quantities demanded by other consumers. This can explain not only the puzzle about prices but also why consumer demand is often fickle, why it is much easier to go from being "in" to being "out" than from "out" to "in," and why supply does not increase to reduce the excess demand.
625 citations
Posted Content•
29 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the degree of specialization is more often determined by other considerations, such as coordination costs of specialized workers who perform complementary tasks, and the amount of general knowledge available.
Abstract: This paper considers specialization and the division of labor. A more extensive division of labor raises productivity because returns to the time spent on tasks are usually greater to workers who concentrate on a narrower range of skills. The traditional discussion of the division of labor emphasizes the limitations to specialization imposed by the extent of the market. We claim that the degree of specialization is more often determined by other considerations. Especially emphasized are various costs of "coordinating" specialized workers who perform complementary tasks, and the amount of general knowledge available.
1 citations