Wednesday, September 4, 2013

If Ronald Coase were alive...

He'd say, this is the kind of thing I am talking about;
Developers of a new skyscraper in London have begun working to resolve an unanticipated problem: a reflection so intense it has "melted" a car. Local business owners have also reported damages from the "fryscraper."
"You can't believe something like this would happen," car-owner Martin Lindsay told reporters. After leaving his prized Jaguar near the so-called "Walkie Talkie"- the newest skyscraper to adorn London's financial district - Lindsay returned several hours later to find one of panels warped, as well as a wing mirror and the Jaguar emblem drooped and misshapen.
"On the windscreen, there was a note from the construction company saying 'your car's buckled, could you give us a call?'," Lindsay said.
The culprit: sun rays reflected from a 37-storey building currently under construction.
Or, as Coase would point out, the culprit is also the parked Jaguar. (And the shopkeeper's carpet);
"This is a health and safety issue," said local shop owner Ali Akay, who said the rays burned a hole into one of his carpets. "They should have looked into this before they built it." 
The transactions costs don't seem to be excessive, so expect the problem to be worked out (and it looks as if it is).

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