The case for an efficiency tax
It is time to recognise the value of a bit of hassle
EFFICIENCY is at the heart of progress. Yet just as too much of a good thing (travel, say) can yield a bad (congestion), so excessive ease in transactions can generate costs, known in the jargon as a “facile externality”, such that less efficiency would actually be more efficient. In academic circles, especially Scandinavian ones, the notion is well established that innovations which eliminate too much hassle could do society harm.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Friction lovers”
From the April 1st 2017 edition
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