Dr. George Ford, chief economist for the Phoenix Center, has released a review of the analysis Free Press is using to rationalize net neutrality. Free Press’ pointed analysis has sparked a number of frank rebuttals, and Ford’s is no exception. “I find it interesting that an organization actively encouraging the FCC to adopt a more data-intensive approach to regulation appears to know so little about data analysis,” he said. “There is not a single statistical test in the entire Free Press report. It’s not a study; it’s a rant.”

Fair? Judge for yourself: “Phoenix Center Policy Perspectives No. 09-04, Finding the Bottom: A Review of Free Press’s Analysis of Network Neutrality and Investment”.

Chief among Ford’s complaints is Free Press’ attribution of all investment to a single voluntary merger condition—something he says doesn’t pass economic muster and contradicts Free Press’ own (correct) assertion that capital expenditures are influenced by a broad range of factors, including demand; supply costs; competition; interest rates; corporate taxes; and general economic confidence and regulation.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.