![]() ![]() LEVITT: Another reason why I love Uber is that I have had a burning question about economics that I’ve wanted to answer for almost 15 years, and by using Uber data, I’ve finally been able to get to the bottom of it. Economists often work with elegant theories that can be devilishly hard to demonstrate in the messy real world. So that is how economists like markets to work.īut that is not the only reason Levitt loves Uber. When there are lots of people looking for rides and not enough drivers, they raise the price, and when there are too many drivers and not enough people, they keep the price low. LEVITT: Uber is, in many ways, the embodiment of what the economists would like the economy to look like, because Uber is a market in some sense that the prices you pay respond to supply and demand. He’s an economist at the University of Chicago. Steve Levitt is my Freakonomics friend and co-author. ![]() Everywhere else in the world I take Uber, but New York is the one place where I take taxis.ĭUBNER: How do you as an economist or how do economists generally feel about Uber? LEVITT: When I’m in New York, taxis seem easier. How did you get here this morning?ĭUBNER: Taxi? One of those yellow things? LEVITT: I like it because it’s a lot like fishing, but then you don’t actually have to kill any animals and take the hook out after you catch them.ĭUBNER: We’re recording on the Upper West Side, which is near where I live and work, but this was a bit of a schlep for you. LEVITT: I love New York because it has amazing Pokémon Go stops and great creatures everywhere.ĭUBNER: It is your new obsession, isn’t it? LEVITT: Yeah, I don’t get to New York so much these days.ĭUBNER: How do you like New York these days? ![]()
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