At the end of two hours of discussion at...

At the end of two hours of discussion at Thursday’s FCC workshop on the economics of the net neutrality debate, Chairman Tom Wheeler asked what economic model would assure the continued innovation by Internet startups that he said is key to the U.S. economy. In the back and forth that followed, Wheeler noted the role regulation played in supporting the Industrial Revolution. Responding to Wheeler’s question, Nicholas Economides, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said banning paid prioritization is key to supporting Internet startups. Others disagreed. The best way to sustain the innovation is “the regime that brought it, and that regime is one that’s worked very well,” said Thomas Hazlett, a Clemson University economics professor. What has never happened is the “radical principal of zero price” for access to infrastructure as edge providers want in opposing paid prioritization, said Economics Inc. Principal Hal Singer. That’s not necessarily true, said Christiaan Hogendorn, a Wesleyan University economics associate professor, citing the role unfettered access to U.S. highway and electricity systems played in the growth of businesses. And that, Wheeler said, “came only after regulations were imposed.”