From: Brett Paatsch (bpaatsch@bigpond.net.au)
Date: Thu Aug 07 2003 - 05:32:48 MDT
Robin Hanson <rhanson@gmu.edu> writes:
> The idea of info markets is that someone wants to
> know something so they create/subsidize a market
> whose prices will tell them what they want to know.
> On the topic of military/political instability in the
> Mideast, the US government is one of the biggest
> potential customers, since they should get great
> value from knowing. Thus losing them as a customer
> is a big setback to selling that info product.
Hmm. Just had a thought. The difference between a
good and bad insurance company (as a business)
may substantially be the quality of the information
that informs the construction of actuarial tables.
As the rates of change accelerate the times for
roi for insurances co's will change. Those co's
that can better predict future shocks to existing
assumption embedded in their tables would
seem to have a competitive advantage. They
may ancipate new markets earlier and exit
unprofitable ones sooner.
Brett
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