The Archives

The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing results for:  “digital markets act”

Accurately Disclosing Oil Reserves

Yesterday’s W$J reported on an effort by oil companies to change the way reserves are reported in securities filings. SEC rules, it seems, mandate that reserves be measured in a manner that understates the actual amount of available oil. For example, the rules (available here) require that only proven reserves (those for which there is ... Accurately Disclosing Oil Reserves

Thomas and Wells on executive compensation

We recently welcomed Harwell Wells to the Illinois Corporate Colloquium to discuss his and Randall Thomas’s Executive Compensation in the Courts: Board Capture, Optimal Contracting and Officer Fiduciary Duties.   The paper suggests a new approach to controlling executive compensation:  the courts.  The paper is partly historical, noting that courts have, in fact, been “surprisingly ... Thomas and Wells on executive compensation

"One thing is clear to me: the orthodox and unvarnished Chicago School of economic theory is on life support, if it is not dead"

More settling economic debates by declaration and without regard to the evidence.  When you make declarations like this it is best to do your homework.  Consider the following: The Post-Chicago theoretical advances are well known to be built upon the foundation laid by Chicago School founders like Aaron Director — it is simply misleading to ... "One thing is clear to me: the orthodox and unvarnished Chicago School of economic theory is on life support, if it is not dead"

Do Republicans Hate Behavioral Economics?

Ezra Klein has an interesting blog post covering Peter Diamond’s nomination to Federal Reserve Board.  The standard refrain in this debate has been something like: “See! The Republicans blocked Diamond and now he won the Nobel — don’t they look silly now.”  I don’t find the particular issue of comparing Diamond’s qualifications as an economist ... Do Republicans Hate Behavioral Economics?

Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case

The Supreme Court denied cert yesterday in Truck-Rail Handling Inc. v. Burlington Northern & Sante Fe Railway Co., U.S., No. 07-693 (HT: Danny Sokol), where the 9th Circuit had affirmed summary judgment for the railroad company on the grounds that the plaintiff had not adequately defined relevant product markets. BNSF leased its terminal facilities to ... Supreme Court Denies Cert in Antitrust Case

How does antitrust measure nonprice effects like political bias?

In the latest congressional hearing, purportedly analyzing Google’s “stacking the deck” in the online advertising marketplace, much of the opening statement and questioning by Senator Mike Lee and later questioning by Senator Josh Hawley focused on an episode of alleged anti-conservative bias by Google in threatening to demonetize The Federalist, a conservative publisher, unless they ... How does antitrust measure nonprice effects like political bias?

Where have all the IPOs gone?

Ritter, Gao and Zhu ask, Where have all the IPOs Gone?  Well, not to young men everywhere, but to the older men and women who run the big companies that have replaced public markets as the key venture capital exit. Here’s the abstract: During 1980-2000, an average of 311 companies per year went public in ... Where have all the IPOs gone?

Who’s Your Nanny?

My law school classmate, M. Todd Henderson (Chicago Law), has posted an interesting paper on SSRN. The paper, entitled The Nanny Corporation and the Market for Paternalism, explores “Nannyism” by business firms and the government. Nannyism consists of imposing paternalistic rules designed to protect the governed — e.g., rules against smoking, drinking, over-eating, and engaging ... Who’s Your Nanny?

William Henderson on Are We Asking the Wrong Questions About Lawyer Regulation?

The TOTM Unlocking the Law Symposium is designed to raise a host of questions surrounding lawyer regulation, including ending lawyer licensure requirements and the ban on non-lawyer investment. My thesis, for better or worse, is that we may be asking the wrong questions.  Despite the stringent regulations placed on lawyers, ingenious entrepreneurs—most of them non-lawyers—are ... William Henderson on Are We Asking the Wrong Questions About Lawyer Regulation?

Sprigman and Buccafusco on Valuing Intellectual Property

We would like to start by thanking Josh for inviting us to participate in what promises to be a fascinating discussion on an important subject.  We’re looking forward to engaging with the other members of the symposium. To begin with, we would like to talk about some of our own experimental research on the valuation ... Sprigman and Buccafusco on Valuing Intellectual Property

Natural Disasters and Payday Lending

There has been plenty of Hurricane Irene blogging, and some posts linking natural disasters to various aspects of law and policy (see, e.g. my colleague Ilya Somin discussing property rights and falling trees).   Often, post-natural disaster economic discussion at TOTM turns to the perverse consequences of price gouging laws.  This time around, the damage from ... Natural Disasters and Payday Lending

The SEC under judicial supervision

You may remember Rajat Gupta, the former GS and P & G director the SEC accused in a March 1 administrative order of tipping inside info to Rajatnaram.  I have previously discussed the many peculiarities of that case, including the fact that the SEC chose this as the first insider trading case (and the first ... The SEC under judicial supervision