Economic & Social Distancing

We’re in the middle of a global COVID-19 pandemic.  We’ve heard about social distancing.  It sounds bad. What if we could use such measures to our advantage?

In the mid-1800s, miasma theory dominated disease transmission thinking.  It said, “bad air” caused most disorders.  Dr. John Snow didn’t buy it. As cholera hit home, he decided to see for himself.  He made dot plot A, with one dot on a Soho, London map for every cholera death.  They centered near the Broad Street Pump.  The opposite of distancing, clustering, proved cholera a water-borne disease.

Distancing and clustering both figure into market success.  In B, the 2018 electric car market had many players offering 5 passenger capacity with up to 250 horsepower.  New entrants may want to provide unique combinations to create separation.  We observe open market spaces.  In 2016, Tesla placed multiple Model 3 versions in then-existing like regions.  It became the best-selling US plug-in car.  Economic distancing can help sales.

In 2018, buyers agreed within about features for which they’ll pay. As shown in C, they cluster to the added value they assign to seats and horsepower (P-Values of 0.59% & 9.80E-11).  How else can we use Figure C? See the next post.

#socialdistancing #economicdistancing #markets