A small but burgeoning literature tries to assess whether Metcalfe's law provides a realistic yardstick for the value of specific types of networks. This paper uncovers a number of flaws in the extant tests. Specifically, I point out that a proper test of Metcalfe's law – or of any of the...

Briscoe et al. IEEE Spectrum, 43(7), 34–39 (2006) claim that Metcalfe's law is “wrong”. One of their arguments is that “if Metcalfe's Law were true, then two networks ought to interconnect regardless of their relative sizes”. This paper shows that this argument is flawed

Menzies (2004) uses a ‘cohorts approach' to model banknote printing costs. This paper proposes a ‘generational approach' that allows for more realistic assumptions concerning currency growth and note replacement. The paper shows that Menzies' claim that the case for polymer banknotes becomes...