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The reverse effect works too. When an overhead cost drops, people consume crappier versions. Free online news is a striking example. If you walked down to the n

by tlb 8y ago

The reverse effect works too. When an overhead cost drops, people consume crappier versions. Free online news is a striking example. If you walked down to the news stand and paid $0.75 for a physical newspaper and the content was all Clickhole listicles you'd never buy it again. But people consume plenty for free.

srtjstjsj 8y ago
That's not the reverse effect, that's supply and demand, and people forgetting opportunity cost of time. Newsstands sell plenty of junk like US Weekly.
- pc86 8y ago
  It is literally the opposite of the effect described in the article.
  - gpvos 8y ago
    That being said, both the Alchian-Allen effect and its opposite are a fairly direct consequence of basic supply and demand effects.
mikeash 8y ago
There was and still is plenty of Clickhole-level crap on newsstands next to the newspapers. People buy it.
- stonecraftwolf 8y ago
  In fact IIRC people buy printbait considerably more than they buy actual newspapers.