Showing results for: “premium natural and organic”
The American Antitrust Institute Fruitlessly Searches for the Key to American Competitive Conditions under the Antitrust Lamppost
On September 28, the American Antitrust Institute released a report (“AAI Report”) on the state of U.S. antitrust policy, provocatively entitled “A National Competition Policy: Unpacking the Problem of Declining Competition and Setting Priorities for Moving Forward.” Although the AAI Report contains some valuable suggestions, in important ways it reminds one of the drunkard who ... The American Antitrust Institute Fruitlessly Searches for the Key to American Competitive Conditions under the Antitrust Lamppost
Making Sense of the Google Android Decision (part 4): The Commission’s Economic Analysis
This is the fourth, and last, in a series of TOTM blog posts discussing the Commission’s recently published Google Android decision (the first post can be found here, and the second here, and the third here). It draws on research from a soon-to-be published ICLE white paper. The previous parts of this series have mostly ... Making Sense of the Google Android Decision (part 4): The Commission’s Economic Analysis
Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
I blogged a bit about the MetroPCS net neutrality complaint a few weeks ago. The complaint, you may recall, targeted the MetroPCS menu of packages and pricing offered to its consumers. The idea that MetroPCS, about one-tenth the size of Verizon, has market power is nonsense. As my colleague Tom Hazlett explains, restrictions on MetroPCS ... Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
The lifecycle of a law is a curious one; born to fanfare, a great solution to a great problem, but ultimately doomed to age badly as lawyers seek to shoehorn wholly inappropriate technologies and circumstances into its ambit. The latest chapter in the book of badly aging laws comes to us courtesy of yet another ... Pushing Ad Networks Out of Business: Yershov v. Gannett and the War Against Online Platforms
FRAND Rules to Incentivize Innovation in Collective Standard Setting: What Golf Tournaments Can Teach Us
One baleful aspect of U.S. antitrust enforcers’ current (and misguided) focus on the unilateral exercise of patent rights is an attack on the ability of standard essential patent (SEP) holders to obtain a return that incentivizes them to participate in collective standard setting. (This philosophy is manifested, for example, in a relatively recent U.S. Justice ... FRAND Rules to Incentivize Innovation in Collective Standard Setting: What Golf Tournaments Can Teach Us
Why Is Sprint’s Stock Surging Upon the Announcement of the DOJ’s Challenge to the Proposed AT&T / T-Mobile Merger?
Basic economic theory underlies the conventional antitrust wisdom that if a merger makes the merging party a more effective competitorby lowering its costs, rivals facing this more effective competitor post-merger are made worse off, but consumers benefit. On the other hand, if a merger is likely to result in collusion or a unilateral price increase, ... Why Is Sprint’s Stock Surging Upon the Announcement of the DOJ’s Challenge to the Proposed AT&T / T-Mobile Merger?
Dan Crane: Fact Checking Kessler’s “Fact Checking” on Direct Distribution
The following post was authored by Dan Crane, the Frederick Paul Furth, Sr. Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School and an occasional TOTM contributor. Last week, I released a public interest group open letter in support of Tesla’s right to distribute its cars directly. The letter attracted quite a bit of ... Dan Crane: Fact Checking Kessler’s “Fact Checking” on Direct Distribution
New Heritage Study Highlights Anticompetitive Features of Obamacare and Points the Way to Needed Reforms
A study released today by the Heritage Foundation (authored by Christopher M. Pope) succinctly describes the inherently anticompetitive nature of Obamacare, which will tend to inflate prices, not reduce costs: “The growth of monopoly power among health care providers bears much responsibility for driving up the cost of health care over recent years. By mandating ... New Heritage Study Highlights Anticompetitive Features of Obamacare and Points the Way to Needed Reforms
A Cost-Benefit Framework for Antitrust Enforcement Policy
Debates among modern antitrust experts focus primarily on the appropriate indicia of anticompetitive behavior, the particular methodologies that should be applied in assessing such conduct, and the best combination and calibration of antitrust sanctions (fines, jail terms, injunctive relief, cease and desist orders). Given a broad consensus that antitrust rules should promote consumer welfare (albeit ... A Cost-Benefit Framework for Antitrust Enforcement Policy
Richard Painter on Litigation Financing and Insurance
Fifteen years ago I published an article urging that non-lawyers be allowed to finance the cost of legal representation in return for a percentage of a judgment or settlement if the plaintiff is successful. Common law prohibitions on champerty were widely believed at the time to prohibit third parties from buying an interest in litigation. ... Richard Painter on Litigation Financing and Insurance
How the Employer Mandate Delay Thwarts the ACA’s Insurance Exchanges and Ignores the Main Problem With the Act’s Mandate/Subsidy Scheme
Has a piece of legislation ever been subject to as much cynicism-inspiring manipulation as the Affordable Care Act? It was rammed through Congress, on a totally partisan basis, via an unprecedented use of the reconciliation process. Its passage required blatant vote-buying with such unjust goodies as the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. Its proponents ... How the Employer Mandate Delay Thwarts the ACA’s Insurance Exchanges and Ignores the Main Problem With the Act’s Mandate/Subsidy Scheme
ACS Blog Debate on Google: Putting Consumer Welfare First in Antitrust Analysis of Google
[I am participating in an online “debate” at the American Constitution Society with Professor Ben Edelman. The debate consists of an opening statement and concluding responses to be posted later in the week. Professor Edelman’s opening statement is here. I am cross-posting my opening statement here at TOTM. This is my closing statement] Professor Edelman’s ... ACS Blog Debate on Google: Putting Consumer Welfare First in Antitrust Analysis of Google
