Month: May 2014

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When the population isn’t homogenous

A recent post at the Freakonomics website set out their plans for a changed NHS.  My opinion is that the main issue with the NHS is not to do with the demand side (which in any case is pretty tightly controlled through referrals through GPs and the NHS Direct portals) but rather the supply side (with too much spent on management, administration and inefficiency).  Leaving that aside, does the Freakonomics proposal make sense? Continue reading “When the population isn’t homogenous”

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Is a book worth £500?

When looking to buy a copy of Newton’s Telecom Dictionary I noticed that as well as the standard page on Amazon, there was another page on which the price was set rather higher, along with a more convoluted title.  The first time I saw this second page there were in fact three booksellers, all with very high prices:

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Sam Books, £432.98
Greenpastures UK, £598.97
UK BOOKDEPOT, £599.00
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Why would these sellers set such a high price for a book that is readily available?   Are they hoping that someone may not be able to find the cheaper version, and mistakenly pay £600? Continue reading “Is a book worth £500?”