About this episode

The episode discusses how lateness is an economics problem related to coordination and transaction costs, illustrated through the concept of German academic quarter hours.

Send us Fan Mail We tell a story about German academic quarter hours-- akademische Viertel-- and use it to argue that lateness is an economics problem of coordination, incentives, and transaction costs, not just manners. We lay out five rules that predict who shows up late, why the pattern spreads, and how to spot it before you commit to a recurring meeting. • the “academic quarter hour” as a rule that makes lateness predictable • lateness as a transaction cost that blocks group goals •...

People in this episode

Host: Michael Munger

Topics covered

• lateness
• economics
• coordination
• incentives
• transaction costs
• group goals

Keywords

• lateness
• transaction costs
• coordination
• incentives
• academic quarter hour
• group goals

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Germany

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