Saturday, August 27, 2011

Auctioning Public Parking Spaces

A student alerts me to this article about a new app that connects suppliers and demanders of public parking spaces. 

How to interpret this story?  The student points out that it is a "fun example of technology making markets more efficient."  True enough.  But it also suggests that cities are underpricing public parking.  With many cities facing financial difficulties, a good way to raise revenue would be to increase the price of parking closer to the market-clearing level.