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Two seemingly similar parking lots at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, couldn't be more different in the emergent behaviors they foster. From the orderly lines of the 85-space lot to the chaotic dynamics of the smaller 19-space circular lot, discover how price rationing, queue formation, and transaction costs play critical roles in these everyday systems.
Things take s a quirky turn with the arrival of a man in a pork pie fedora who disrupts these parking norms, buying spaces directly from beachgoers. This unconventional behavior prompts a deeper discussion on the breakdown of social rules and the challenges of maintaining order when outsiders intervene.
Book o'da'week: Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. 2024, Penguin Press.
If you have questions or comments, or want to suggest a future topic, email the show at taitc.email@gmail.com !
You can follow Mike Munger on Twitter at @mungowitz
