Michele Boldrin: Against Intellectual Monopoly (1h19m)

This episode features an interview of research economist Michele Boldrin from 2009 by Russ Roberts, host of Econtalk. Boldrin argues that copyright and patent are used by the politically powerful to maintain monopoly profits. He argues that the incentive effects that have been used to justify copyright and patents are exaggerated–few examples from history suggest that the temporary and not-so-temporary monopoly power from copyright and patents were necessary to induce innovation. Boldrin reviews some of that evidence and talks about the nature of competition.

Arbitrage and Shorting Stocks

When you buy a stock, it is a good price as far as most people are concerned. Maybe the stock will go down or maybe it will go up, but given the information people have today, it is priced highly accurately to what people think it should be priced. This phenomenon is not true with most other assets.

Harvard Study: An Epidemic of Loneliness Is Spreading Across America

Loneliness among Americans has been growing in recent years, but the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically exacerbated the problem. A new report by Harvard University researchers finds that 36 percent of Americans are experiencing “serious loneliness,” and some groups, such as young adults and mothers with small children, are especially isolated.