3 ms·

For example, we can charge black people more (based on zip-code demographics) to discourage them from flying first class. A middleman like Kayak has no

by cbr 13y ago

For example, we can charge black people more (based on zip-code demographics) to discourage them from flying first class. A middleman like Kayak has no incentive to keep black people out of first-class. They do have an incentive to price discriminate: charge people more who would be willing to pay more. Likely outcome: lower fares for economically disadvantaged groups. Except the middlemen are all required to charge the fare the airline sets, and can't compete on price. The airlines currently price discriminate primarily by separating the relatively price-insensitive business travelers from highly price-sensitive leisure travelers. This is why you'll generally see lower fares for round trips that span a weekend: if you're traveling for work you generally don't want to spend your weekend off away from your family.

001sky 13y ago
No incentive to keep black people out of first-class. They do have an incentive to price discriminate: charge people more who would be willing to pay more. Likely outcome: lower fares for economically disadvantaged groups. This is insanely naive. Do you really think that rich people don't pay a premium for "exclusivity"? And who, pray tell, do you imagine they are trying to exclude? [0] http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/how-segregated-is-your-city-this-eye-opening-map-shows-you/ http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/how-segregated-is-your-c... [1] http://jezebel.com/5985110/new-york-fashion-weeks-models-are-getting-whiter http://jezebel.com/5985110/new-york-fashion-weeks-models-are... [2] http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/macy-hit-class-action-shopping-black-suit-article-1.1515744 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/macy-hit-class-action-sh... [3] http://valleywag.gawker.com/harvard-study-black-people-get-screwed-on-airbnb-1505185859 http://valleywag.gawker.com/harvard-study-black-people-get-s... [4] http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1934432 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1934432 [5] http://valleywag.gawker.com/racial-profiling-newest-trend-in-silicon-valley-1058533301 http://valleywag.gawker.com/racial-profiling-newest-trend-in... [6] http://qz.com/149342/the-uncomfortable-racial-preferences-revealed-by-online-dating/ http://qz.com/149342/the-uncomfortable-racial-preferences-re... [7] see p. 4, http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report-CCR-NYPD-Stop-and-Frisk.pdf http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report-CCR-NYPD-Stop-and-Frisk.p...
- ry0ohki 13y ago
  His point was that Kayak, who is simply a lead generator has no incentive to do so, not that discrimination doesn't exist in the world.
  - 001sky 13y ago
    who is simply a lead generator The busines model of lead gen is $/per Y. Y is typical a matrix, with quality as the main variation. In plain english, high quality leads are worth a premium. The business of assessing quality, at scale, is through indirect statistical techniques (ie, loose correlations of observed characteristics to perceived quality). "Not Black" is a piece of observed data that loosely correlates with higher quality for many high-net worth customers in the following market segments: ebay, air-bnb, fashion, dating, and real estate. The nexus of {fashion, dating, real-estate} is pretty strong if you consider the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Alternatively, you are talking the more important parts of a hierarchy of needs pyramid. Or put another way, this is the stuff rich people are most likely to "irrationally" throw money at. Expensive clubs, fancy cars, and flashy homes. Precisely the target market for 1st class travel, which is not business class (obviously). This is a devils advocate position, but its worth thinking through. It (was) not meant to be just a "shock and awe" type of analysis just to get a rise out of people.
- Grue3 13y ago
  Half of your citations are Gawker. Do you work for them or something? Why would you link to Internet equivalent of the trashiest British tabloid?
  - 001sky 13y ago
    Half of your citations are Gawker The links to original research are trivially available. But if this type of comment makes you feel special, no worries. http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/14-054_e3c04a43-c0cf-4ed8-91bf-cb0ea4ba59c6.pdf http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/14-054_e3c04a... http://kentbrew.github.io/profiling-atherton/ http://kentbrew.github.io/profiling-atherton/

by cbr 13y ago

001sky 13y ago

No incentive to keep black people out of first-class. They do have an incentive to price discriminate: charge people more who would be willing to pay more. Likely outcome: lower fares for economically disadvantaged groups. This is insanely naive. Do you really think that rich people don't pay a premium for "exclusivity"? And who, pray tell, do you imagine they are trying to exclude? [0] http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/how-segregated-is-your-city-this-eye-opening-map-shows-you/ http://www.wired.com/design/2013/08/how-segregated-is-your-c... [1] http://jezebel.com/5985110/new-york-fashion-weeks-models-are-getting-whiter http://jezebel.com/5985110/new-york-fashion-weeks-models-are... [2] http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/macy-hit-class-action-shopping-black-suit-article-1.1515744 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/macy-hit-class-action-sh... [3] http://valleywag.gawker.com/harvard-study-black-people-get-screwed-on-airbnb-1505185859 http://valleywag.gawker.com/harvard-study-black-people-get-s... [4] http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1934432 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1934432 [5] http://valleywag.gawker.com/racial-profiling-newest-trend-in-silicon-valley-1058533301 http://valleywag.gawker.com/racial-profiling-newest-trend-in... [6] http://qz.com/149342/the-uncomfortable-racial-preferences-revealed-by-online-dating/ http://qz.com/149342/the-uncomfortable-racial-preferences-re... [7] see p. 4, http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report-CCR-NYPD-Stop-and-Frisk.pdf http://ccrjustice.org/files/Report-CCR-NYPD-Stop-and-Frisk.p...

ry0ohki 13y ago
His point was that Kayak, who is simply a lead generator has no incentive to do so, not that discrimination doesn't exist in the world.
- 001sky 13y ago
  who is simply a lead generator The busines model of lead gen is $/per Y. Y is typical a matrix, with quality as the main variation. In plain english, high quality leads are worth a premium. The business of assessing quality, at scale, is through indirect statistical techniques (ie, loose correlations of observed characteristics to perceived quality). "Not Black" is a piece of observed data that loosely correlates with higher quality for many high-net worth customers in the following market segments: ebay, air-bnb, fashion, dating, and real estate. The nexus of {fashion, dating, real-estate} is pretty strong if you consider the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Alternatively, you are talking the more important parts of a hierarchy of needs pyramid. Or put another way, this is the stuff rich people are most likely to "irrationally" throw money at. Expensive clubs, fancy cars, and flashy homes. Precisely the target market for 1st class travel, which is not business class (obviously). This is a devils advocate position, but its worth thinking through. It (was) not meant to be just a "shock and awe" type of analysis just to get a rise out of people.
Grue3 13y ago
Half of your citations are Gawker. Do you work for them or something? Why would you link to Internet equivalent of the trashiest British tabloid?
- 001sky 13y ago
  Half of your citations are Gawker The links to original research are trivially available. But if this type of comment makes you feel special, no worries. http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/14-054_e3c04a43-c0cf-4ed8-91bf-cb0ea4ba59c6.pdf http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/14-054_e3c04a... http://kentbrew.github.io/profiling-atherton/ http://kentbrew.github.io/profiling-atherton/