Aesthetic improvements often coincide with genuine functional improvements (quality-aesthetic complementarity): the toilet brush cover both looks pleasing and prevents dripping; the Viking stove is beautiful and puts out far more BTUs; an expensive fountain pen genuinely writes better than a cheap one—though whether the improvement justifies the price is a subjective judgment up to the user.

causalpending

Speaker

Russ Roberts

Evidence Quote

These are unquantifiable, these improvements in quality, but they're certainly not empty, these these changes in quality.

Source

Virginia Postrel on Style 11/27/2006EconTalk
Created: 6/17/2026, 10:31:39 AM

My Notes

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