Comments on: Food News (new series) 17: Spoiled by choice http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/Archive/2009/12/01/food-news-new-series-17-spoiled-by-choice/ I never touched it, honest! Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:04:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Eats Wombats http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/Archive/2009/12/01/food-news-new-series-17-spoiled-by-choice/comment-page-1/#comment-22561 Eats Wombats Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:33:42 +0000 http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/?p=1804#comment-22561 Monopsony is where you have one buyer and many sellers, e.g., the NHS for many health-related products in the UK. Product differentiation is often aimed at extracting the maximum consumer surplus -- the difference between the standard selling price and the maximum the consumer would have been prepared to pay. Produce a few extra models with some desirable features and charge more for them and, with luck, you avoid leaving the consumer with any money left over. I don't think there's a single word for this, besides capitalism, or if there is I wasn't paying attention when I learned it. There is an evil "science" to this -- segmenting the market and tweaking the offerings -- and it has carried over into politics in the US, so that candidates know to 0.001% what they need to say on abortion in this district and spending to that constituency etc. The details are ghastly. It's politics packaged like... breakfast cereal. Monopsony is where you have one buyer and many sellers, e.g., the NHS for many health-related products in the UK.

Product differentiation is often aimed at extracting the maximum consumer surplus — the difference between the standard selling price and the maximum the consumer would have been prepared to pay. Produce a few extra models with some desirable features and charge more for them and, with luck, you avoid leaving the consumer with any money left over. I don’t think there’s a single word for this, besides capitalism, or if there is I wasn’t paying attention when I learned it.

There is an evil “science” to this — segmenting the market and tweaking the offerings — and it has carried over into politics in the US, so that candidates know to 0.001% what they need to say on abortion in this district and spending to that constituency etc. The details are ghastly. It’s politics packaged like… breakfast cereal.

]]> By: Luigi http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/Archive/2009/12/01/food-news-new-series-17-spoiled-by-choice/comment-page-1/#comment-22461 Luigi Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:35:29 +0000 http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/?p=1804#comment-22461 Monopolistic competition is the closest I can come to it. Monopolistic competition is the closest I can come to it.

]]> By: Eating The Road http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/Archive/2009/12/01/food-news-new-series-17-spoiled-by-choice/comment-page-1/#comment-22450 Eating The Road Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:20:23 +0000 http://jeremycherfas.net/wp/?p=1804#comment-22450 Jeremy, I love that you like it :) Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/eatingtheroad) so that we can keep up -ETR Jeremy,

I love that you like it :)

Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/eatingtheroad) so that we can keep up

-ETR

]]>