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Showing results for:  “Michael Vita”

UCLA’s Milken gift

The NYT discusses a controversy at UCLA (mainly, it seems, involving objections by Lynn Stout) to the $10 million gift it just announced from Lowell Milken, Michael’s brother.  Lowell was accused many years ago in connection with his brother’s securities violations and escaped prosecution because of his brother’s plea deal. Steve Bainbridge comments in response ... UCLA’s Milken gift

Research Handbook on the Economics of Family Law

Edward Elgar has published the Research Handbook on the Economics of Family Law — available here and here or here — co-edited by myself and Lloyd Cohen.  While a bit outside my normal intellectual strike zone, its an area with such a diverse and important set of topics, a lot of cool data, and application ... Research Handbook on the Economics of Family Law

Review of Industrial Organization Special Merger Guidelines Issue

The August 2011 issue of Review of Industrial Organization is a special issue on the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines edited by Roger Blair. The issue is available here, and includes articles from: Herbert Hovenkamp Robert Willig Wayne-Roy Gale, Robert C. Marshall, Leslie M. Marx and Jean-Francois Richard Roger D. Blair and Jessica S. Haynes John ... Review of Industrial Organization Special Merger Guidelines Issue

The AIG-General Re reversals

A Second Circuit panel knocked over yet another federal prosecution, this one of General Re and AIG executives who were convicted of propping up AIG with an allegedly sham reinsurance transaction. As summarized by a WSJ editorial, the abuses that sent this prosecution down the tubes “include prejudicial evidence, botched jury instructions and “compelling inconsistencies” ... The AIG-General Re reversals

It’s baaack: The Shareholder Protection Act

The Shareholder Protection Act been reintroduced in Congress, and Lucian Bebchuk still likes it. He and Robert Jackson wrote an article defending the basic idea, which Bebchuk describes as to “establish special corporate-governance rules for deciding when corporate resources may be spent on politics.”  He admits “the bill is unlikely to be adopted during this ... It’s baaack: The Shareholder Protection Act

Searching for Antitrust Remedies, Part II

In the last post, I discussed possible characterizations of Google’s conduct for purposes of antitrust analysis.  A firm grasp of the economic implications of the different conceptualizations of Google’s conduct is a necessary – but not sufficient – precondition for appreciating the inconsistencies underlying the proposed remedies for Google’s alleged competitive harms.  In this post, ... Searching for Antitrust Remedies, Part II

Morgenson’s DPA scandal

It’s not easy coming up with scandals all the time.  Some days there just isn’t a new scandal to report.  But that space has to get filled somehow.  The NYT’s Gretchen Morgenson often finds herself in this position.  Her scandal for yesterday, reported as usual with Louise Story (I’ll just start calling them Morgenstory), was about ... Morgenson’s DPA scandal

DSK and media bias

Bret Stephens wonders why he and fellow journalists ignored the fact that “[a]lmost from the beginning, there was something amiss in the case of People v. Dominique Strauss-Kahn.” He speculates: I did enjoy the thought of this mandarin of the tax-exemptocracy being pulled from the comfort of his first-class Air France seat and dispatched to ... DSK and media bias

Ralph Nader, investor

So how is Ralph Nader, the former scourge of GM and all things corporate, doing with his retirement fund?  The WSJ takes a peak: In 2000, his Cisco stake was valued at $1 million, about one-third of his $3 million portfolio. As Cisco’s share price swooned in the years that followed, it has represented a ... Ralph Nader, investor

THIS THURSDAY: The Law and Economics of Search Engines and Online Advertising at GMU Law

The Henry G. Manne Program in Law & Economics Studies and Google present a conference on The Law and Economics of Search Engines and Online Advertising to be held at George Mason University School of Law, Thursday, June 16th, 2011. The conference will run from 8:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. OVERVIEW: This conference is organized ... THIS THURSDAY: The Law and Economics of Search Engines and Online Advertising at GMU Law

Advance praise for Manne & Wright book on regulating innovation

Our book, Competition Policy and Patent Law Under Uncertainty: Regulating Innovation will be published by Cambridge University Press in July.  The book’s page on the CUP website is here. I just looked at the site to check on the publication date and I was delighted to see the advance reviews of the book.  They are ... Advance praise for Manne & Wright book on regulating innovation

Organizing Economists at the CFPB

With the recent announcement of Sendhil Mullainathan as the Assistant Director for Research at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (WSJ profile here), while one turns to the question of how economic input will be incorporated into agency decision-making. Luke Froeb makes a nice point about the organization of economists in administrative agencies: The FTC, which ... Organizing Economists at the CFPB