Is Amazon Evil? Part 1 with Dr. Lowell Taylor & Dr. Martin Gaynor
This week’s episode is the first in a special two-part series investigating the question, “Is Amazon evil?” We take a close look at the e-commerce giant and some of the most alarming warnings that have been raised about their meteoric rise to market dominance. In Part 1, we spoke with two distinguished professors of economics at the Heinz College, Dr. Lowell Taylor and Dr. Martin Gaynor, to understand the economics of how a company like Amazon could grow so quickly to control half of the US online retail market. We also asked what the consequences could be for consumers and whether we should be worried about Amazon forming a complete monopoly.
Dr. Lowell Taylor is the H. John Heinz III University Professor of Economics at the Heinz College and a Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, where he serves as Principal Investigator of the 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth. He previously served as a senior economist with President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors. Taylor’s research interests are in labor economics and economic demography.
Dr. Martin Gaynor is the E.J. Barone University Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and former Director of the Bureau of Economics at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Professor Gaynor's research focuses on competition and incentives in health care and on antitrust policy.