Category:Sharing Economy
Doctors On Demand: Would You Use an Uber for Doctors?
March 16, 2016 | Video
What if seeing a doctor could be easy as getting an Uber? Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center Adam Thierer looks at one of the newest innovations on the free-market frontier of health care. Doctors are making real house calls arranged by new smartphone apps. Would you use an app like this to see […]
Did you know that New York City taxi medallions can cost over $1 million?
January 8, 2016 | Post
In order to run a taxi in New York, you need a medallion. Because the number of medallions is restricted by the government (artificially restricting the supply, and thus, competition), getting your hands on a medallion can be extremely expensive. As Bloomberg Business explains: “To own a cab in New York, you need a medallion—a […]
Douglass North and Ridesharing
December 8, 2015 | Post
In the wake of his passing, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the contributions of my mentor Douglass C. North (Nobel Prize winner in 1993). In the last few months, I have been thinking especially about how we can understand debates about innovations like “Big Box” retail and ridesharing in light of some […]
Uber and the Sharing Economy: A New Way of Living
October 12, 2015 | Post
Earlier this year, I was making travel arrangements for a trip to Charleston. I booked my flight and hotel, and was about to book a rental car when I thought “wait a second. Charleston has Uber, doesn’t it?” It does, and I took UberX—the service that allows anyone who meets Uber’s requirements to drive for […]
Craft Beer 101: Entrepreneurship and Beer
September 24, 2015 | Video
There are more than 2,000 breweries in the United States, and craft beer has been continually increasing in popularity. Is the craft beer scene today the best it’s ever been? The short answer: no. In 1870 there were about 4,000 breweries in the U.S. Today there are only about 2,800, which means that Ulysses S. […]
Sharing Economy: Uber, Airbnb, & Feastly vs. Government Regulation
August 6, 2015 | Video
The sharing economy connects people with services like Uber, AirBnB, and Feastly. Despite these new ways to connect, many regulators would like to stop it in its tracks.