Messy pricing

A simple market rule-of-thumb has long taken hold. If demand for something vastly exceeds supply, price it-so that those willing to pay or outbid others get the privilege.

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This may have motivated ticket prices ranging from 3,800 to 11,800, as reported, for a seat in Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium to catch a glimpse on Saturday of star footballer Lionel Messi. Scarcity economics, however, can go wrong if it's divorced from human behaviour. While an estimated 60,000 fans pa