Behold the conundrum which brought an economic department to a standstill: Why do people walk up stairs, but not up escalators?
Before you get to reading, and discover the (obvious, but economically somewhat tenuous) solution, consider the margin:
Taking one step costs energy X
Moving up one stair benefits by distance Y
The marginal analysis of stair and escalator is [in the limited way I have presented it] equivalent... Why choose to "spend" on stairs, but not on escalators? Now, go back up, and read for yourself. Be amused at economists. We are very amused with ourselves.
Related question: why is it more common for people to walk on the horizontal moving belts at the airport (you know, the "escalators" that are flat), than to walk up escalators?
ReplyDeleteHmmm... word fart here, but I guess maybe in that case it is more apt to compare walking on moving sidewalks with walking on the ground, since the way the distance travelled (horizontal) is similar. You would get greater marginal benefit for an equal marginal cost in that case, right? :)
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