Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Leegin Legislation Update
A Senate panel approved the Leegin Bill on a voice vote (HT: Main Justice). The story behind the link suggests that there is some Republican opposition brewing. I suspect there will be hearings. The Bill’s findings make the following two observations: (3) Many economic studies showed that the rule against resale price maintenance led to ... Leegin Legislation Update
Coke, Pepsi, Product Promotion and the Efficiencies of Vertical Integration
The soda industry is trending toward vertical integration, which Coke and Pepsi acquiring their largest bottlers. From the WSJ: Coke and PepsiCo sell concentrate to bottlers, which then bottle and distribute the soft drinks in their territories. Many of these smaller bottlers are small businesses that have been run by family members for decades and ... Coke, Pepsi, Product Promotion and the Efficiencies of Vertical Integration
An Honest Question for Obamacare Supporters
A number of opponents of Obamacare, such as Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn, have criticized the President and his people for referring to pending proposals as “health insurance reform” rather than “health care reform.” I suppose these critics think the President is engaging in a sleight of hand in an effort to minimize the ... An Honest Question for Obamacare Supporters
Barack Obama, financial journalist?
When I was a student at the University of Chicago Law School, our president lectured there. I didn’t take any classes from him — he taught stuff I wasn’t interested in — but I had friends who did; all raved. The other day, I opened up my copy of the Law School directory for reasons ... Barack Obama, financial journalist?
The Enforcers [#agworkshop] [#dojusda]
To expand on Geoff’s post about concentration in the seed industry, there has been a consistent line of discussion throughout the day raising the specter of monopoly and anti-competitive behavior, not only in seed but also in livestock. There are continual references to adverse price effects and limitations in choice for consumers and producers alike, ... The Enforcers [#agworkshop] [#dojusda]
On seed industry concentration and its claimed effects [#dojusda #agworkshop]
A common theme throughout the day has been the declining number of seed companies–increasing concentration–and its effect. Except no one has talked about the effect. Other than pointing to the structural change itself, no one seems to have any evidence relating to the effect of the change. One farmer at the open mic session (coincidentally ... On seed industry concentration and its claimed effects [#dojusda #agworkshop]
A More "Competitive" Agriculture? [#agworkshop]
The morning’s panel of farmers represented a variety of perspectives, ranging from more reasoned to more reactionary. Among the ideas suggested: More reasoned: Find a balance between food and fuel in the policy debate (though no clear directions how) Increase trade in global markets (always easy to talk about forcing other countries to buy more ... A More "Competitive" Agriculture? [#agworkshop]
Why Citizens United was right
Let me say at the outset, some of my prior beliefs. First, I believe in the marketplace of ideas and think that more speech is generally better than less speech. I believe the Founders shared this belief and enshrined it in the “no law” component of the First Amendment. I believe this is especially true ... Why Citizens United was right
Economics versus politics in antitrust [#agworkshop]
Bill Northey, IA Ag Sec’y, sounds a bit like an economist (ah, turns out he has a degree in ag business and an MBA . . . ). Yes, price of seeds has gone up, but so has yield, and so has overall value. The issue, he says, is how to divide the surplus, and ... Economics versus politics in antitrust [#agworkshop]
The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
As Geoff noted, we’re stationed at the DOJ/USDA workshop to witness the goings on and provide some comments. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack opened this session with a laundry list of statistics concerning rural America and the agriculture sector. The statistics focused on national concentration ratios and national averages, which are tremendously deceiving for ... The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
A global warming hypothetical
Global warming critics have taken two primary approaches. First, deny the facts based on the incentives for scientists to fudge the data to get prestige and research dollars (see, for example, the East Anglia emails), based on the inherent limitations of humans to build global weather models to predict the temperature 100 years from now, ... A global warming hypothetical
Credit derivatives don’t kill countries, politicians do
Looking for something to blame for the Greek debt crisis, some observers are pointing their fingers at credit derivatives. An article in yesterday’s New York Times makes the case that credit default swaps (CDS), and specifically their sale by Goldman Sachs, are somewhat to blame in part for Greece’s problems. As I explain in this ... Credit derivatives don’t kill countries, politicians do
