RICHMOND, VA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — A recent article on the Richmond branch of the Federal Reserve has taken to task those who have decried the seeming excesses of the secondary ticket market of late, suggesting that its merely the invisble hand of the market at work.
According to the Stephen Layson an economics professor at the University of North Carolina, who was extensively quoted in the article, its a simple matter of supply and demand.
"If the promoters are deliberately setting prices low, it seems to me they're just enriching the scalpers," says Layson, "Parents are objecting to the fact that they have to pay such high prices. But my opinion as an economist is that it's just supply and demand. When supply is very limited and demand is very great, then the market clearing prices are going to be very high. That may seem outrageous but nobody is forcing you to buy your tickets."
Layson, who seems to be a strong proponent of free market theory, believes that any attempts to elimite or strongly regulate the secondary market would be counterproductive. In his view, such efforts would only raise enforcement costs and do nothing to address the underlying problem.
Layson's view echoes the popular theme that regulation would only serve to hinder the proper function and efficiency of the market, accepting as fait accompli that effective enforcement is virtually impossible and greatly expensive, but does not consider that the secondary ticketing market as it is currently developing is ultimately a hostile environment for fans. The most effective way to deter ticket speculators and scalpers would be to restrict sale prices to at or near face-value and restricting ticket purchases to limited numbers, thus removing the greater part of the financial incentive effeciencies of scale that drive the secondary market. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
