Marina Krakovsky on the Middleman Economy

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4.7 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2016

⏱️ 63 minutes

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Summary

Why would anyone want to hire a middleman, like a wedding planner, especially if you have time to take care of the planning yourself? Marina Krakovsky, author of The Middleman Economy talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about middlemen in the modern economy. Despite predictions that the internet would destroy the need for middlemen, Krakovsky argues they're more valuable than ever though their roles have changed. Krakovsky looks at the different roles middlemen play today and how their value added can justify their existence.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:09.2	I'm your host, Russ Roberts, of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:13.7	Our website is econtalk.org, where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find
0:18.7	links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:21.7	You'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done
0:25.8	going back to 2006.
0:28.2	Our email address is mailadycontalk.org.
0:30.7	We'd love to hear from you.
0:34.3	Today is February 29, 2016, and my guest is Marina Krakowski, journalist and author.
0:40.8	Her latest book is The Middle Man Economy, How Brokers, Agents, Dealers, and Everyday
0:45.7	Matchmakers Create Value and Profit.
0:49.0	It's a short book, but it's one that's rich in applied economics and ideas and relevance
0:54.5	for today's world of commerce.
0:57.4	It's our topic for today.
0:58.4	Marina, welcome to Econ Talk.
1:01.0	Thank you, Russ.
1:02.6	Your introduction is titled, and it's got a great title, No One Like Some Middle Man,
1:07.0	but most of us are middlemen.
1:08.8	Let's look at both parts of that sentence.
1:11.1	Why do you write No One Like Some Middle Man?
1:13.6	Well, this is a big theme in my book, is that people have long been suspicious of middle
1:21.2	men, people tend to think, and this is true across cultures as far as I can see and
	...

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