Don't You Know?

The there is no difference between the two.  Efficient for whom is a nonsensical statement.
From "MR" this morning:

It is the comment that I am commenting on.

Parking spots as price controls

by Tyler Cowen on March 15, 2012 at 5:49 pm in Economics | Permalink

But not everywhere:

San Francisco is trying to shorten the hunt with an ambitious experiment that aims to make sure that there is always at least one empty parking spot available on every block that has meters. The program, which uses new technology and the law of supply and demand, raises the price of parking on the city’s most crowded blocks and lowers it on its emptiest blocks. While the new prices are still being phased in — the most expensive spots have risen to $4.50 an hour, but could reach $6 — preliminary data suggests that the change may be having a positive effect in some areas.

THE COMMENT THAT I LOVE:


 "They won’t stop at socially efficient prices. They’ll stop at revenue-maximizing prices. The latter may be considerably higher. If income inequality is high and there exists a class of super-rich people (e.g. internet entrepreneurs or venture capitalists), the city might discover that it can raise more revenue by charging one rich guy $25 per hour than by charging five middle-income people $4.50 per hour."


Really?
Do you really think that there is anyone with "middle-income" left in the American city.   These people left right after the second great war.  Cities are just the rich, and people who "service" the rich. Starting the day with a nice pun.