Showing results for: “european commission sep”
Antitrust, The Bailout, and the Coming Boom in Monopolization Enforcement
From the WSJ comes an editorial from Martin Neal Baily and Matthew Slaughter describe a forthcoming report from the Private Equity Council making the link between product market competition and productivity: A central theme of this report is the critical role that competitive product markets play in spurring productivity growth and boosting standards of living. ... Antitrust, The Bailout, and the Coming Boom in Monopolization Enforcement
Price Discrimination is Good, Part 3
At Knowledge Problem, Michael Giberson collects anecdotal evidence on New York’s zone pricing ban, i.e. a prohibition on price discrimination. While gasoline prices are falling all over the country, the anecdotal evidence is that New York’s zone pricing ban is resulting in higher profits for retailers at the expense of consumers. Former George Mason economist ... Price Discrimination is Good, Part 3
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
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
Challenging Anticompetitive Government Action, in Light of Constitutional Constraints on U.S. Antitrust Law
On December 11 I published a Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum on this topic. I concluded that the federal courts have done a fairly good job in harmonizing antitrust with constitutionally-based federalism and First Amendment interests (petitioning, free speech, and religious freedom). Nevertheless, it must be admitted that these “constitutional constraints” somewhat limit the ability of ... Challenging Anticompetitive Government Action, in Light of Constitutional Constraints on U.S. Antitrust Law
Spicy Documents Serve up a Paltry Antitrust Meal
There is always a temptation for antitrust agencies and plaintiffs to center a case around so-called “hot” documents — typically company documents with a snippet or sound-bites extracted, some times out of context. Some practitioners argue that “[h]ot document can be crucial to the outcome of any antitrust matter.” Although “hot” documents can help catch ... Spicy Documents Serve up a Paltry Antitrust Meal
Time for the FTC to Reform its Advertising Substantiation Program
In my just published Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum, I argue that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should substantially scale back its overly aggressive “advertising substantiation” program, which disincentivizes firms from providing the public with valuable information about the products they sell. As I explain: “The . . . [FTC] has a long history of ... Time for the FTC to Reform its Advertising Substantiation Program
Watching local and a la carte is a recipe for STAVRAtion
The free market position on telecom reform has become rather confused of late. Erstwhile conservative Senator Thune is now cosponsoring a version of Senator Rockefeller’s previously proposed video reform bill, bundled into satellite legislation (the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act or “STAVRA”) that would also include a provision dubbed “Local Choice.” Some free marketeers have defended ... Watching local and a la carte is a recipe for STAVRAtion
Swimming Against the Tide: The FTC’s Misguided Antagonism to Health Care Integration
There is a consensus in America that we need to control health care costs and improve the delivery of health care. After a long debate on health care reform and careful scrutiny of health care markets, there seems to be agreement that the unintegrated, “siloed approach” to health care is inefficient, costly, and contrary to ... Swimming Against the Tide: The FTC’s Misguided Antagonism to Health Care Integration
How to Reform Operation Choke Point
“Operation Choke Point” (OCP) is an interdepartmental initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal financial services regulators to discourage financial intermediaries from dealing with consumer fraud-plagued industries. In an August 4 Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum, I discuss the misapplication of this potentially beneficial project and recommend possible measures to reform OCP. If ... How to Reform Operation Choke Point
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
DOJ Files Another Section 2 Case
Press release here. Here’s an excerpt: The complaint alleges that post-acquisition Microsemi raised prices significantly on small signal transistors certified by the Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC), a component of the DOD, at the Joint Army-Navy Technical Exchange-Visual Inspection (JANTXV) and Joint Army-Navy Space (JANS) levels of reliability on its qualified manufacturers list or QML. ... DOJ Files Another Section 2 Case
