Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Linkline Decision is Unanimous
The opinion is available here. Yet another super-majority Roberts Court antitrust decision applying consensus economic theory. No more price squeeze claims. Alcoa is not overturned. The Court declares that the price-squeeze claim in the absence of a duty to deal can be handled jointly by a straightforward application of Trinko and Brooke Group to the ... Linkline Decision is Unanimous
The AIG Bailout
A draft of my new paper entitled The AIG Bailout is now up on SSRN. Here’s the abstract: On February 28, 2008, American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the largest insurance company in the United States, announced 2007 earnings of $6.20 billion or $2.39 per share. Its stock closed that day at $50.15 per share. Less ... The AIG Bailout
Competitive Resale Price Maintenance in the Absence of Free-Riding
I want to second Josh’s commendation of Ben Klein’s submission to the recent FTC Hearings on Resale Price Maintenance. Klein’s paper, which bears the same title as this post, is lucidly written (blissfully free of equations, Greek letters, etc.) and makes a point that, at this juncture in antitrust’s history, is absolutely crucial. In the ... Competitive Resale Price Maintenance in the Absence of Free-Riding
Cert Denied in Rambus
Hot off the press (HT: Antitrust Review). As TOTM readers will know, I think this is the correct result as I’ve argued here that the Supreme Court should indeed reject the Commission’s petition. I also believe the rejection is consistent with the Supreme Court’s antitrust case selection under Chief Justice Roberts in the sense that, ... Cert Denied in Rambus
DOJ AAG Designate Christine Varney on Section 2, Europe, Google & A Puzzling Statement About Error Costs
Predicting what antitrust enforcement regimes in the current economic environment is a tricky business. I’ve done my best here. One probably cannot think of a better source for such predictions than those from the soon-to-be AAG Christine Varney, who recently spoke at an American Antitrust Institute panel on Section 2 enforcement (you can hear the ... DOJ AAG Designate Christine Varney on Section 2, Europe, Google & A Puzzling Statement About Error Costs
Law and New Institutional Economics for Law Professors
Victor Fleischer and Phil Weiser are putting on a Law and New Institutional Economics workshop for law professors in June. The conference announcement is here. I believe Thom attended last year’s installment, and I will be on the program this year. Here are more details: New Institutional Economics (NIE) is an interdisciplinary methodology that draws ... Law and New Institutional Economics for Law Professors
Bittlingmayer and Hazlett on the Stimulus
George Bittlingmayer (University of Kansas) and my colleague Tom Hazlett look at the market response to the stimulus and find it none too enthusiastic: President Barack Obama’s “stimulus” plan invokes the 1930s fiscal strategy put forward by British economist John Maynard Keynes, who saw capitalism as pretty much spent. Having exhausted their store of innovative ... Bittlingmayer and Hazlett on the Stimulus
Some Reactions to the Obama Housing Plan
First, Peter Klein: I am bewildered. But, more than that, I am angry. I can’t count how many news accounts I’ve seen about the poor, struggling homeowners who can’t make the monthly mortgage payment, are about to be foreclosed, and risk losing the family home, yard, white picket fence, and piece of the American Dream. ... Some Reactions to the Obama Housing Plan
What's the Empirical Evidence on RPM?
I’ve been reading the papers for the FTC RPM Workshops, though I cannot attend. On the procompetitive side, I especially recommend Ben Klein’s explanation of how RPM facilitates the supply of promotional services in the absence of dealer free-riding. Critics of RPM, in my view, generally do not understand the fundamental economic point that retailer ... What's the Empirical Evidence on RPM?
Froeb & Ganglmair on Antitrust and Patent Holdup
Luke Froeb and Bernard Ganglmair have posted An Equilibrium Analysis of Antitrust as the Solution to Patent Holdup. Here’s the abstract: After downstream manufacturers make relationship-specific investments to develop products using upstream patented technology, they can be held-up” by patentees, sometimes called “patent ambush.” If manufacturers anticipate hold-up, they will be reluctant to make relationship-specific ... Froeb & Ganglmair on Antitrust and Patent Holdup
New and Improved: Is Antitrust Too Complicated for Generalist Judges
Co-author Michael R. Baye (of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and formerly Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission) and I have posted a new and improved version of our paper, Is Antitrust Too Complicated For Generalist Judges: The Impact of Economic Complexity and Judicial Training on Appeals, ... New and Improved: Is Antitrust Too Complicated for Generalist Judges
Vizio Files Monopolization Suit Against Funai
This looks like an interesting suit involving antitrust, patents, and standard setting: VIZIO, Inc., America’s HDTV Company, announced today that it has filed an antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit in the United States District Court, Central District of California, against Funai Electronics Co., Ltd., a Japanese distributor of digital televisions and related components. In the ... Vizio Files Monopolization Suit Against Funai
