Showing results for: “premium natural and organic”
Fed should stay out of Google/Twitter social search spat
As has become customary with just about every new product announcement by Google these days, the company’s introduction on Tuesday of its new “Search, plus Your World” (SPYW) program, which aims to incorporate a user’s Google+ content into her organic search results, has met with cries of antitrust foul play. All the usual blustering and ... Fed should stay out of Google/Twitter social search spat
Is Google Search Bias Consistent with Anticompetitive Foreclosure?
In my series of three posts (here, here and here) drawn from my empirical study on search bias I have examined whether search bias exists, and, if so, how frequently it occurs. This, the final post in the series, assesses the results of the study (as well as the Edelman & Lockwood (E&L) study to ... Is Google Search Bias Consistent with Anticompetitive Foreclosure?
Broadband Deployment, Pole Attachments, & the Competition Economics of Rural-Electric Co-ops
In our recent issue brief, Geoffrey Manne, Kristian Stout, and I considered the antitrust economics of state-owned enterprises—specifically the local power companies (LPCs) that are government-owned under the authority of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). While we noted that electricity cooperatives (co-ops) do not receive antitrust immunities and could therefore be subject to antitrust enforcement, we ... Broadband Deployment, Pole Attachments, & the Competition Economics of Rural-Electric Co-ops
The Amazon-Whole Foods merger: Natural and organic competition in the evolving grocery industry
What actually happened in the year following the merger is nearly the opposite: Competition among grocery stores has been more fierce than ever. “Offline” retailers are expanding — and innovating — to meet Amazon’s challenge, and many of them are booming. Disruption is never neat and tidy, but, in addition to saving Whole Foods from potential oblivion, the merger seems to have lit a fire under the rest of the industry. This result should not be surprising to anyone who understands the nature of the competitive process. But it does highlight an important lesson: competition often comes from unexpected quarters and evolves in unpredictable ways, emerging precisely out of the kinds of adversity opponents of the merger bemoaned.
The FTC Tacks Into the Gale, Battening No Hatches: Part 2
Part 1 of this piece can be found here. Emergence of the ‘Neo-Brandeisians’ Thus, matters unfolded until the curtain began to descend on the second Obama term in 2016. In the midst of presidential primary season, a targeted political challenge to the prevailing economic approach to antitrust first came to light. No one has yet ... The FTC Tacks Into the Gale, Battening No Hatches: Part 2
The New Merger Guideline Commandments: Thirteen is an Unlucky Number
Introduction On July 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (the agencies) finally issued new draft Merger Guidelines (DMG), open to public comments for two months. The DMG embody a set of thirteen individual Guidelines, which “are not exhaustive of the ways that a merger may substantially lessen competition or tend ... The New Merger Guideline Commandments: Thirteen is an Unlucky Number
Investigating Search Bias: Measuring Edelman & Lockwood’s Failure to Measure Bias in Search
Last week I linked to my new study on “search bias.” At the time I noted I would have a few blog posts in the coming days discussing the study. This is the first of those posts. A lot of the frenzy around Google turns on “search bias,” that is, instances when Google references its ... Investigating Search Bias: Measuring Edelman & Lockwood’s Failure to Measure Bias in Search
Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
Steven Pearlstein at the Washington Post asks if it’s “Time to loosen Google’s grip.” The article is an analytical mess. Pearlstein is often a decent business reporter–I’m not sure what went wrong here, but this is a pretty shoddy piece of antitrust journalism. For the most part, the article is a series of tired claims ... Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
Franchising, Starbucks vs. Subway, and Promotional Services
Professor Bainbridge offers a correction to Keith’s Starbucks analysis by pointing out that Starbucks does not have franchisees. I don’t think the franchise/ franchisee distinction has much to do with Keith’s conclusion that whatever is going on is not an antitrust problem. But the Professor is on to a really cool question about franchising and ... Franchising, Starbucks vs. Subway, and Promotional Services
EU Bans Insurer Price Discrimination Based on Gender
From the WSJ: The European Union’s highest court declared illegal the widespread practice of charging men and women different rates for insurance, roiling the industry and setting in motion an overhaul of how life, auto and health policies are written across Europe.Two Belgian men had challenged the higher life-insurance premiums charged to members of their ... EU Bans Insurer Price Discrimination Based on Gender
Amazon-Whole Foods symposium wrap-up
On Tuesday, August 28, 2018, Truth on the Market and the International Center for Law and Economics presented a blog symposium — Is Amazon’s Appetite Bottomless? The Whole Foods Merger After One Year — that looked at the concerns surrounding the closing of the Amazon-Whole Foods merger, and how those concerns had played out over ... Amazon-Whole Foods symposium wrap-up
The Washington Post editorial board understands online competition better than the European Commission does
Last week the editorial board of the Washington Post penned an excellent editorial responding to the European Commission’s announcement of its decision in its Google Shopping investigation. Here’s the key language from the editorial: Whether the demise of any of [the complaining comparison shopping sites] is specifically traceable to Google, however, is not so clear. ... The Washington Post editorial board understands online competition better than the European Commission does
