William R. Allen is an American economist, professor and author. He is known for his authorship of economic literature and has been a nationally syndicated radio commentator, a newspaper columnist, a Los Angeles television commentator and an occasional magazine essayist. From 1978 to 1992, more than 200 radio stations carried daily broadcasts of “The Midnight Economist” written and delivered by Allen.
Here is an excerpt of his broadcast on innovations, efficiency and monopolies followed by Questions for Thought and Discussion.
Competition & Efficiency, Innovation & Monopoly
In a Word document (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1″ margins, 300-500 words) fully address any ONE of these Questions. You may not have the exact answers, but you can certainly explore the ideas given what you know from the text and the class. I am mostly interested in your learning and iterative thinking about how patent restrictions and monopoly protections effect innovation and creativity.