Sixteen economists have issued a statement expressing concerns about proposals to provide for network neutrality. The abstract of their statement is as follows:
Network neutrality is a policy proposal that would
regulate how network providers manage and price the use of their
networks. Congress has introduced several bills on network
neutrality. Proposed legislation generally would mandate that
Internet service providers exercise no control over the content
that flows over their lines and would bar providers from charging
more for preferentially faster access to the Internet. These
proposals must be considered carefully in light of the underlying
economics. Our basic concern is that most proposals aimed at
implementing net neutrality are likely to do more harm than good.
The economists are: WILLIAM J. BAUMOL, New York University - Stern School of Business - Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, MARTIN E. CAVE, University of Warwick - Warwick Business School; Brunel University, PETER CRAMTON, University of Maryland - Department of Economics, ROBERT W. HAHN , AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies. THOMAS W. HAZLETT, George Mason University, PAUL L. JOSKOW, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Alfred E. Kahn, National Economic Research Associates Inc. (NERA), ROBERT E. LITAN, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, JOHN W. MAYO, Georgetown University - Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, PATRICK A. MESSERLIN, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris - Center for International Studies (CERI); Groupe d'Economie Mondiale (GEM) - IEP Paris, BRUCE OWEN, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR); Stanford University, ROBERT S. PINDYCK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Sloan School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), VERNON SMITH, George Mason University - Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science (ICES), SCOTT J. WALLSTEN, AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies; American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Leonard Waverman, London Business School, and Lawrence J. White, New York University - Department of Economics.
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