Showing results for: “%22whole foods%22”
Amazon/Whole Foods: What Me Worry?
Brandeis is back, with today’s neo-Brandeisians reflexively opposing virtually all mergers involving large firms. For them, industry concentration has grown to crisis proportions and breaking up big companies should be the animating goal not just of antitrust policy but of U.S. economic policy generally. The key to understanding the neo-Brandeisian opposition to the Whole Foods/Amazon mergers is that it has nothing to do with consumer welfare, and everything to do with a large firm animus. Sabeel Rahman, a Roosevelt Institute scholar, concedes that big firms give us higher productivity, and hence lower prices, but he dismisses the value of that. He writes, “If consumer prices are our only concern, it is hard to see how Amazon, Comcast, and companies such as Uber need regulation.” And this gets to the key point regarding most of the opposition to the merger: it had nothing to do with concerns about monopolistic effects on economic efficiency or consumer prices. It had everything to do with opposition to big firm for the sole reason that they are big.
Amazon-Whole Foods: The Speculation Then, the Evidence Today
Carl Shapiro, the government’s economics expert opposing the AT&T-Time Warner merger, seems skeptical of much of the antitrust populists’ Amazon rhetoric: "Simply saying that Amazon has grown like a weed, charges very low prices, and has driven many smaller retailers out of business is not sufficient. Where is the consumer harm?" On its face, there was nothing about the Amazon/Whole Foods merger that should have raised any antitrust concerns. While one year is too soon to fully judge the competitive impacts of the Amazon-Whole Foods merger, nevertheless, it appears that much of the populist antitrust movement’s speculation that the merger would destroy competition and competitors and impoverish workers has failed to materialize.
Amazon and Whole Foods, Historically Considered
Viewed from the long history of the evolution of the grocery store, the Amazon-Whole Foods merger made sense as the start of the next stage of that historical process. The combination of increased wealth that is driving the demand for upscale grocery stores, and the corresponding increase in the value of people’s time that is driving the demand for one-stop shopping and various forms of pick-up and delivery, makes clear the potential benefits of this merger. Amazon was already beginning to make a mark in the sale and delivery of the non-perishables and dry goods that upscale groceries tend to have less of. Acquiring Whole Foods gives it a way to expand that into perishables in a very sensible way. We are only beginning to see the synergies that this combination will produce. Its long-term effect on the structure of the grocery business will be significant and highly beneficial for consumers.
Amazon-Whole Foods After One Year Symposium
One year ago tomorrow the Amazon/Whole Foods merger closed, following its approval by the FTC. The merger was something of a flashpoint in the growing populist antitrust movement, raising some interesting questions — and a host of objections from a number of scholars, advocates, journalists, antitrust experts, and others who voiced a range of possible problematic outcomes. Under settled antitrust law — evolved over ... Amazon-Whole Foods After One Year Symposium
E-cigarette taxation: Lessons from “sin taxes”
The Economist takes on “sin taxes” in a recent article, “‘Sin’ taxes—eg, on tobacco—are less efficient than they look.” The article has several lessons for policy makers eyeing taxes on e-cigarettes and other vapor products. Historically, taxes had the key purpose of raising revenues. The “best” taxes would be on goods with few substitutes (i.e., ... E-cigarette taxation: Lessons from “sin taxes”
Introducing TOTM’s newest blogger and ICLE’s new chief economist, Eric Fruits
We’re delighted to welcome Eric Fruits as our newest blogger at Truth on the Market. Eric Fruits, Ph.D. is the Oregon Association of Realtors Faculty Fellow at Portland State University and the recently minted Chief Economist at the International Center for Law & Economics. Among other things, Dr. Fruits is an antitrust expert, with particular expertise ... Introducing TOTM’s newest blogger and ICLE’s new chief economist, Eric Fruits
Speaking at events next week on privacy/data security and merger enforcement
I’ll be participating in two excellent antitrust/consumer protection events next week in DC, both of which may be of interest to our readers: 5th Annual Public Policy Conference on the Law & Economics of Privacy and Data Security hosted by the GMU Law & Economics Center’s Program on Economics & Privacy, in partnership with the ... Speaking at events next week on privacy/data security and merger enforcement
Mergers, innovation, and agricultural biotechnology: Putting the squeeze on growers and consumers?
Innovation Competition in the Spotlight Innovation is more and more in the spotlight as questions grow about concentration and declining competition in the U.S. economy. These questions come not only from advocates for more vigorous competition enforcement but also, increasingly, from those who adhere to the school of thought that consolidation tends to generate procompetitive ... Mergers, innovation, and agricultural biotechnology: Putting the squeeze on growers and consumers?
The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
A number of blockbuster mergers have received (often negative) attention from media and competition authorities in recent months. From the recently challenged Staples-Office Depot merger to the abandoned Comcast-Time Warner merger to the heavily scrutinized Aetna-Humana merger (among many others), there has been a wave of potential mega-mergers throughout the economy—many of them met with ... The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
Time for Congress to Consider Establishing a “SMARTER” Antitrust Merger Review Framework
On October 7, 2015, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the “Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules” (SMARTER) Act of 2015. As former Antitrust Modernization Commission Chair (and former Acting Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust) Deborah Garza explained in her testimony, “t]he premise of the SMARTER Act is simple: A merger ... Time for Congress to Consider Establishing a “SMARTER” Antitrust Merger Review Framework
Meese and Oman Spank the Corporate Law Prof Amici in Hobby Lobby
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) subjects government-imposed burdens on religious exercise to strict scrutiny. In particular, the Act provides that “[g]overnment shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability” unless the government can establish that doing so is the least restrictive means of furthering ... Meese and Oman Spank the Corporate Law Prof Amici in Hobby Lobby
FTC closes Men’s Warehouse/Jos A Bank merger investigation
Credit where it’s due — the FTC has closed its investigation of the Men’s Warehouse/Jos. A. Bank merger. I previously wrote about the investigation here, where I said: I would indeed be shocked if a legitimate economic analysis suggested that Jos. A. Banks and Men’s Warehouse occupied all or most of any relevant market. For the most ... FTC closes Men’s Warehouse/Jos A Bank merger investigation
