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Kahneman’s Time Interview Fails to Allay Concerns About Behavioral Law and Economics

TOTM alumnus Todd Henderson recently pointed me to a short, ten-question interview Time Magazine conducted with Nobel prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman.  Prof. Kahneman is a founding father of behavioral economics, which rejects the rational choice model of human behavior (i.e., humans are rational self-interest maximizers) in favor of a more complicated model that incorporates a number ... Kahneman’s Time Interview Fails to Allay Concerns About Behavioral Law and Economics

Externalities and Future Selves

Paternalism is a turn-off. We humans seem to have an innate desire for autonomy, a desire that generally leads us to resist efforts by elites to force us to make “wise” decisions. It’s rhetorically useful, then, for opponents of a proposed regulation to demonstrate that the rule at issue aims merely to save folks from ... Externalities and Future Selves

The International Competition Network at Seventeen

Introduction Last week I attended the 17th Annual Conference of the International Competition Network (ICN) held in New Delhi, India from March 21-23.  The Delhi Conference highlighted the key role of the ICN in promoting global convergence toward “best practices” in substantive and procedural antitrust analysis by national antitrust (“competition”) agencies.  The ICN operates as ... The International Competition Network at Seventeen

The Covidien/Newport Merger: Killer Acquisition or Just a Killer Story?

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Geoffrey A. Manne, (President, ICLE; Distinguished Fellow, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics); and Dirk Auer, (Senior Fellow ... The Covidien/Newport Merger: Killer Acquisition or Just a Killer Story?

The Epic Flaws of Epic’s Antitrust Gambit

Much has already been said about the twin antitrust suits filed by Epic Games against Apple and Google. For those who are not familiar with the cases, the game developer – most famous for its hit title Fortnite and the “Unreal Engine” that underpins much of the game (and movie) industry – is complaining that ... The Epic Flaws of Epic’s Antitrust Gambit

FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part One

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced that it would seek to block Amgen’s proposed $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. The move was the culmination of several years’ worth of increased scrutiny from both Congress and the FTC into antitrust issues in the biopharmaceutical industry. While the FTC’s move didn’t elicit much public comment, ... FTC v Amgen: The Economics of Bundled Discounts, Part One

Reining in Digital Competition to No Good End: Will AICOA and OAMA Rise from the Grave?

The 117th Congress closed out without a floor vote on either of the major pieces of antitrust legislation introduced in both chambers: the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and the Open Apps Market Act (OAMA). But it was evident at yesterday’s hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee that at least some ... Reining in Digital Competition to No Good End: Will AICOA and OAMA Rise from the Grave?

Will the Public Insurance Plan Be a Predator?

Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Frank inhabits a simple little world in which private enterprise, in its relentless pursuit of profit (i.e., charging more for something than it’s worth), is consistently a force for evil, and government, populated by wise and benevolent folk who have eschewed riches in favor of public service (see, e.g., Ted ... Will the Public Insurance Plan Be a Predator?

The Paradox of Choice Meets the Information Age

Barry Schwartz’s seminal work “The Paradox of Choice” has received substantial attention since its publication nearly 20 years ago. In it, Schwartz argued that, faced with an ever-increasing plethora of products to choose from, consumers often feel overwhelmed and seek to limit the number of choices they must make. In today’s online digital economy, a ... The Paradox of Choice Meets the Information Age

ELS, CELS and Bubbles in Legal Scholarship

Some interesting thoughts from David Zaring and Larry Ribstein on the future of the empirical legal studies movement and its flagship conference, CELS.   Zaring asks whether there is enough glue holding the various constituencies within the ELS movement together.  Ribstein warns of an empirical bubble and argues that the real need for an umbrella organization ... ELS, CELS and Bubbles in Legal Scholarship

Interchange fees and other rules

The GAO report raises concerns about card association the level of interchange fees (that acquirers pay issuers for credit card transactions processed) but also about other card association rules such as the ‘no surcharge rule.’ That rule prevents a merchant who accepts card transactions from charging a ‘point of sale’ premium to consumers who use ... Interchange fees and other rules

Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings

A couple weeks ago, Geoff wrote concerning the DOJ’s misguided antitrust interest in Monsanto. With that in mind, I was very interested to see today’s announcement that Monsanto’s earnings and gross margins are significantly off for its fiscal first quarter.  According to the Wall Street Journal report, Monsanto posted a loss for the quarter due ... Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings