For students who live on or near the Corner, the fastest way to the academic buildings on JPA (Wilson, Nau/Gibson, etc.) is to make your way down East Range until the start of Brandon Ave which shortly intersects with JPA. Renovations on the Commerce School*, however, render Brandon Ave inaccessible north of JPA therefore increasing student commute times and thus decreasing well-being for a portion of the student populous (increased commute time = decreased time spent elsewhere).
In economic terms, what's occurring here, is a negative production externality. UVA, in "producing" Comm School renovations simultaneously decreases the well-being of those students in the college (not comm) who use East Range and Brandon Ave to commute to class without compensation. The private marginal cost (to UVA) is lower than the social marginal cost (the cost to UVA + the damages to affected students). Unfortunately, there is no clear economic solution here from applying Coase Theorem. Any solution would likely lead to a free rider problem. UVA is a government institution and the area closed for construction is also government land, meaning the "producer" controls the property rights. In essence the producer has all the power and would need incentive from the affected party to impose any changes. However, most students would be reluctant to make any personal investment for the common benefit of a solution, hoping to free ride off others contributions.
*Admittedly the whole construction zone is largely for medical buildings as well, but the small section that specifically blocks the path to JPA is for the Comm School.
1 comment:
First off, this is an externality that I think we can all relate to. Not only has getting to class become much more difficult, but classes in Wilson hall are definitely impacted when you constantly hear construction noises right outside the window. Additionally, you bring up a good point with the free rider problem. I know that I would be willing to pay money to halt construction (which is unrealistic to pool enough money to stop this expensive construction project). I would be willing to contribute more to try and and find a solution to the problem because it has affected attention and focus in two of my classes, whereas the majority of students who simply walk past it would be incentivized to free-ride off my potential contributions. Moreover, I don't have any property rights in this situation, so that's not ideal for trying to find a solution.
Post a Comment