Source: EconLog
by Kevin Corcoran
“When I was in high school, when you wanted to see a movie, you first had to go to the theater to buy the tickets. Online purchases were not an option at that point. Also, and more importantly from my perspective, seating was handled on a first-come-first-served basis. Now, some people don’t care very much about where they are seated in a theater. Others care a lot …. I’m one of the ones who cares a lot. So in order to make sure I got a good seat, I needed to be among the first to walk in the theater. … While economists usually love the effects of competition, there are exceptions. Competition in a zero-sum situation is wasteful. Waiting in line is a zero-sum game, where one party can only gain at the expense of another.” (01/30/25)
https://www.econlib.org/time-transactions-costs-and-technology/