- what makes things positional goods?
- what makes positional good competitions involutional (see that long reply to Moloch on that blog I forgot the name of)
- With positional goods and college/credentialisation. is the issue around a lack of innovation in credentialisation? Or that credentialisation is a natural monopoly because trust is risky, and monopolies in general inhibit innovation, so of course credentialing guilds don’t innovate. Is there some deeper connection to the positional goods we see, or at least the especially relevant ones, that is naturally monopolistic? I.e. stable/widespread status hierarchies have to have evolved norms that punish creating new status hierarchies right?
- Why are credentialing systems seemingly natural monopolies, yet they do proliferate slightly? Geographical limitations are an obvious one, as america started, it needed credentialing institutions in america, hence harvard. What about the multiplication of boxing leagues/championships, which aren’t geographically specific? Why have they emerged, and what do they teach us about positional goods and credentialing institutions?
- How do first mover advantages relate to natural monopolies
- Don’t subsidise demand for positional goods. What’s the connection between signalling goods and positional goods. Don’t subsidise demand for anything where supply is totally inelastic, like land and positional goods.