[Avery Andrews 931017.1033]
(Hank Folson (931016))
>
>My personal PCT explanation is that doctors control for a reasonable income
>level. If the patient base is suddenly split in two, the first doctor will
>double his prices, since he now has half as many patients to provide his
>income.
>
>I believe you can substitute any other profession you choose into this
>scenario, with the exception of engineers....
Some years ago, some one from a carpet-cleaning firm explained to a
friend of mine why prices were so high:
`there are too many of us, so we all have to charge more to make a
living'
I suspect that this will happen whenever the members of the profession
have some kind of perceived group identity (very likely in Australia,
due to the `mateship' ethos).
Avery.Andrews@anu.edu.au