Showing results for: “FTC policy statement unfair methods of competition”
What happened in Australia?
What happens when you take a key price in an industry and cut it in half? For normal markets economists would expect that this would have a dramatic effect on quantity. That, however, was not the experience in Australia when the Reserve Bank of Australian (RBA) used new powers in 2003 to move Visa and ... What happened in Australia?
The Institutional Dynamic: Understand First, Act Second—If At All
I have now had a chance to review the excellent posts on the second day, all of which have a common flavor. They expand the universe of relative considerations that need to be taken into account to decide whether imposing caps on interchange fees enhances or reduces overall social welfare. The narrow perspective on this ... The Institutional Dynamic: Understand First, Act Second—If At All
Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
As Democrats insist that income taxes on the 1% must go up in the name of fairness, one Democratic Senator wants to make sure that the 1% of heaviest Internet users pay the same price as the rest of us. It’s ironic how confused social justice gets when the Internet’s involved. Senator Ron Wyden is ... Tears for Tiers: Wyden’s “Data Cap” Restrictions Would Hurt, not Help, Internet Users
Meese on Bork (and the AALS)
William & Mary’s Alan Meese has posted a terrific tribute to Robert Bork, who passed away this week. Most of the major obituaries, Alan observes, have largely ignored the key role Bork played in rationalizing antitrust, a body of law that veered sharply off course in the middle of the last century. Indeed, Bork began his 1978 ... Meese on Bork (and the AALS)
The Incorporation Transparency Act
This post is based on a legal backgrounder I recently published with the Washington Legal Foundation, which is available here. This analysis is cross-posted from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, introduced by Senators Levin, Grassley, and McCaskill and currently pending before the ... The Incorporation Transparency Act
Wireless Spectrum: Free Market or Rigged Market?
The debates over mobile spectrum aggregation and the auction rules for the FCC’s upcoming incentive auction — like all regulatory rent-seeking — can be farcical. One aspect of the debate in particular is worth highlighting, as it puts into stark relief the tendentiousness of self-interested companies making claims about the public interestedness of their preferred ... Wireless Spectrum: Free Market or Rigged Market?
Why Now? The Faulty Economics of Credit Card Reform
About four years ago, I worked for Visa in opposing the opposed limitations on interchange fees that the Australian government was about to impose on the credit card industry. The situation there, like the situation in the United States, seemed hardly propitious for reform. The use of credit cards was rapidly expanding, and the rate ... Why Now? The Faulty Economics of Credit Card Reform
Article 81 is dead! Long live Article 101!
The European Union has re-numbered its governing Articles following the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. So the former “Treaty Establishing the European Community” is now the “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Community.” And the chapter on competition, former Articles 81 through 89, is now the new (and unchanged) Articles 101 ... Article 81 is dead! Long live Article 101!
From Today’s New York Times: Uber and Amazon
The Times seems to specialize in stories that use lots of economics but still miss the important points. Two examples from today: Stories about Uber, and about the dispute between Amazon and Hachette. UBER: The article describes Uber’s using price changes to measure elasticity of demand, and more or less gets it right. But it ... From Today’s New York Times: Uber and Amazon
Planet Money on Kittens, Keynes, and the Stock Market
Prompted by this post at Cafe Hayek, I recently participated in a web experiment sponsored by NPR’s Planet Money. I was asked to watch three short animal videos and vote for the animal I found cutest. The videos were all pretty cute. One featured a polar bear cub sliding along the ice with its mother. Another featured a loris ... Planet Money on Kittens, Keynes, and the Stock Market
Who Killed Market Definition?
Louis Kaplow’s Why (Ever) Define Markets? in the Harvard Law Review was one of the most provocative papers in the antitrust literature over the past few years. We’ve discussed it here. I wrote: Kaplow provocatively argues that the entire “market definition/ market share” paradigm of antitrust is misguided and beyond repair. Kaplow describes the exclusive ... Who Killed Market Definition?
PeaceHealth and De Facto Exclusive Dealing, Part III
Josh’s thoughtful response (Bitchslap? Nah.) to my post criticizing the Ninth Circuit’s recent Masimo decision raises a number of important matters. I started to just submit a comment to Josh’s post, but then I figured a reply was post-worthy. (I don’t want the antitrust nerds who read these technical posts — and here’s to you, ... PeaceHealth and De Facto Exclusive Dealing, Part III
