In your example of the radon detector the change in price could well be
different depending on the direction. If all homes had them, the builder
can buy in larger quantities- and in any case uniformity is less costly as
it leads to less errors (especially in processes in which a number of
subcontractors must be utilized in a certain order.)
Are you proposing a level of rational ignorance about radon detectors? This
sounds reasonable to me.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bryan Caplan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: The Indeterminacy of Individual Economic Actions
>Could workers be taking the "default" option as a kind of endorsement or
>certification by their employer than this particular choice is a
>generally wise one?
>
>E.g., if my home builder made radon detectors a standard home feature
>(where I could request a downgrade), I would want one. But if there
>were merely an optional add-on, I wouldn't request the upgrade. The way
>they frame the option seems to convey information about its value.
>--
> Prof. Bryan Caplan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan
>
> "We may be dissatisfied with television for two quite different
> reasons: because our set does not work, or because we dislike
> the program we are receiving. Similarly, we may be dissatisfied
> with ourselves for two quite different reasons: because our body
> does not work (bodily illness), or because we dislike our
> conduct (mental illness)."
> --Thomas Szasz, *The Untamed Tongue*
>
