The economics of noise: Who pays the price?

FOR the past two months, Malaysia has been running an unpriced experiment. Every night, across our cities and towns, we have collectively accepted a simple premise: that the private enjoyment of firecrackers outweighs the public cost imposed on everyone else. It is time to question that premise.

As a researcher, I am used to thinking in terms of trade-offs and unintended consequences. What we are seeing today is a textbook case: a policy intended to formalise a market has instead expanded consumption while leaving many of its costs unaccounted for.