Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Was the Whirlpool/Maytag Merger Anticompetitive After All?
One of the most controversial merger policy decisions during the Bush administration was the DOJ’s failure to bring a complaint against the Whirlpool/Maytag merger. Indeed, the decision was even criticized by Carl Shapiro, the economic expert retained by the DOJ on the case. Jonathan Baker and Carl Shapiro summarize this conclusion as follows: “The March ... Was the Whirlpool/Maytag Merger Anticompetitive After All?
The Economics of Judicial Salaries: Justice Roberts v. Judge Judy
A commentator observes that the salary disparity between Chief Justice Roberts (roughly $220,000) and Judge Judy (roughly $25 million) is the “result of markets” and asks the following question: “is there any reason to assume that simply because the market has delivered that outcome, that Judge Judy deserves to make 100 times more than Chief ... The Economics of Judicial Salaries: Justice Roberts v. Judge Judy
Crony Capitalism Revisited
There were several letters in today’s Wall Street Journal commenting on my recent op-ed with my son Joe on second best arguments for various forms of crony capitalism. Overall, these articles are critical of our position, but I do not disagree with them. Our original article was at best a weak defense, with terms like ... Crony Capitalism Revisited
Changes at the FTC Bureau of Economics
Recently, the FTC announced that Howard Shelanksi would be taking charge of the Bureau of Economics on July 1st. Now comes news that DOJ economist Ken Heyer (and UCLA Bruin!) — longtime Economics Director at the Division — will be moving over to the Commission as Deputy Director for Antitrust. Leemore Dafny (Northwestern) will also come ... Changes at the FTC Bureau of Economics
Cablevision Buyout
Last week the Dolan family announced an offer to take Cablevision private. The family owns 22.5% of Cablevision’s common stock. However, Cablevision has a dual capitalization consisting of one-vote-per-share Class A stock (which trades on the NYSE) and ten-vote-per-share Class B Stock (which is not publicly traded). The Dolan family owns all of the Class ... Cablevision Buyout
Long Term Investors and Darts
I read with interest an article on cnn.com indicating that we have been on the “longest down streak since June 2005.†I have two comments: 1. “The longest down streak since June 2005†is hardly anything to write home about. We are talking about the longest down streak in the past 16 months, not . ... Long Term Investors and Darts
Baker on Antitrust & Innovation
Jonathan Baker (American) has a very interesting paper on a very hot topic in antitrust nowadays: the role of antitrust regulation in innovation. The title is “Beyond Schumpeter vs. Arrow: How Antitrust Fosters Innovation.” Here is the abstract: The relationship between competition and innovation is the subject of a familiar controversy in economics, between the Schumpeterian ... Baker on Antitrust & Innovation
Taxing Regulatory Failure
Last month, the IRS and the US Treasury Department issued proposed rules to implement a new tax on health insurance providers and self-insured groups. The tax is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and will be used to help fund the new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which will conduct research ... Taxing Regulatory Failure
Rubin on "Item Pricing Laws" in the WSJ
Paul Rubin (Emory Law) has an excellent piece in the WSJ taking state regulators to task for “Item Pricing Laws” which require that most goods in retail stores have an individual price sticker rather than, for example, a price tag on the store shelf. IPLs increase “menu costs” when retailers want to change prices which ... Rubin on "Item Pricing Laws" in the WSJ
The SEC’s accounting problems
The SEC is charged with the responsibility of making sure that companies that are raising money tell the whole truth about their finances. But the NYT reports that the SEC, which is seeking money from Congress, is having problems with disclosing its own finances: Last November, the G.A.O. said that the commission’s books were in ... The SEC’s accounting problems
Thom Lambert on Alternatives to Lawyer Licensing
Let’s start at the very beginning. When analyzing the merits of any regulation — i.e., any rule that disrupts private ordering by threat of force — one should first ask what problem the regulation aims to avert. When it comes to the rules banning sales (and thereby preventing purchases) of legal services by unlicensed individuals, ... Thom Lambert on Alternatives to Lawyer Licensing
The government reward for doing a bad job
In the world of competitive markets, if one does a bad job, the typical result is less resources, less power, and more oversight by interested parties. If a firm makes a bad product, there will be fewer profits, lost market share, and additional attention from Consumer Reports, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and regulators. In the world of ... The government reward for doing a bad job
