Traffic congestion, a well-established result of motorization, is less ambiguous as an externality, although people endure part of the delays they help to create.
And the truth is that of the various things the wealthy might spend on, this is one of the less offensive; it might even reduce externalities, if people walk back to their downtown hideaways instead of having a limo wait outside the restaurant for hours.
To relapse into the lingo of economics, it provides viewers with what economists call a "positive network externality". The more people that are watching, the more the potential viewer stands to benefit from joining them.
We find that when negative externalities occur immediately, people learn to adopt Pigouvian taxes, which are aimed at reducing negative externalities and restoring market efficiency.
"I think those externalities have affected people's view of the team," Alderson said.
By contrast, when negative externalities are delayed, people are less receptive to taxation.
Before turning to more serious topics, I want to address the issue of externalities, which several people have raised, including Ryan Avent at the Economist.
Yes, economists admitted that there were cases in which markets might fail, of which the most important was the case of "externalities" — costs that people impose on others without paying the price, like traffic congestion or pollution.
The latter represents environmental externalities because most people enjoy the benefits, but bear no cost.
It is what economists call a negative externality, paid by the people who lose their jobs and the communities that suffer from job loss.
