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The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing results for:  “%22whole foods%22”

A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics

I’ve been, for some time, a behavioral law and economics skeptic.  Sometimes this position is confused with skepticism about behavioral economics, as in — believing that behavioral economics itself offers nothing useful to economic science or is illegitimate in some way.   That’s not true.  Now, I have some qualms about the explanatory power of some ... A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics

DOJ Stumbling Out Of The Gate On Antitrust In Ag

Wednesday, April 7, J.P. Stadtmueller, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, gave the green light for DOJ’s antitrust case against Dean Foods to move forward. Dean had filed a motion to dismiss based on its assertion that the DOJ had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the DOJ’s antitrust claim ... DOJ Stumbling Out Of The Gate On Antitrust In Ag

Varney's comments from the DOJ/USDA hearings [#dojusda #agworkshop]

The DOJ has posted the transcript from the recent DOJ/USDA hearings on antitrust in agriculture here.  I figured our readers might be especially interested in seeing Christine Varney’s comments (especially without having to slog through all 350 pages to find them!).  I have bolded some of the most interesting parts of her comments. As a ... Varney's comments from the DOJ/USDA hearings [#dojusda #agworkshop]

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]

Morons of the world, unite!

My wife makes me subscribe to the New York Times, and occasionally it is worth it. Take this recent essay by Roger Cohen. It is difficult to get past the faux-intellectual babble — “As it is, everyone’s shrieking their lonesome anger, burrowing deeper into stress, gazing at their own images” — but if you can ... Morons of the world, unite!

Why Don't Federal Judges "Hire" Economists More Often?

Dick Langlois’ post on Carl Kaysen’s role in the United Machinery antitrust case reminded me of a question I’ve been meaning to blog about.  Langlois writes: Obituaries praise Kaysen for his role as a policy intellectual of great scope, especially in the area of nuclear non-proliferation. But they either fail to mention, or mention with ... Why Don't Federal Judges "Hire" Economists More Often?

Varney on the Merger Guidelines

Yesterday the final Horizontal Merger Guidelines Review workshop was held and, among other antitrust luminaries, our own Josh Wright participated.  We look forward to a report from the front lines. Meanwhile, Assistant Attorney General Varney’s comments are available on the interwebs.  Overall her remarks seem uncontroversial, especially following on the heels of the agency’s (surprising?) ... Varney on the Merger Guidelines

The faulty logic of "protecting" consumers from the absence of annual fees

Our friend and University of Chicago law professor, Omri Ben-Shahar, fresh off a run participating in our credit card interchange fee symposium, has penned a guest post following up on our ongoing discussion of annual fees: There is no annual fee for shopping at Wal-Mart, but there is an annual fee for shopping at Sam’s ... The faulty logic of "protecting" consumers from the absence of annual fees

Regulating Local Food Out of the Market

The Nanny Brigade has once again descended on the Windy City. It previously sought to protect us from unhealthy trans fats, smoking in private establishments that we voluntarily patronize, and those oh-so-offensive theatrical depictions of smoking. The Nannies are now working to protect Chicago’s well-heeled from risks associated with the locally produced, artisanal sausages sold ... Regulating Local Food Out of the Market

"Standardizing" the Horizontal Merger Guidelines

I’m confident that my esteemed colleagues, who have far more expertise about the merger guidelines than I, will offer all sorts of terrific ideas for revising the substance of the guidelines. While I would certainly advocate a few specific changes (i.e., revise the HHI thresholds to reflect actual agency practice), I’ll leave the devilish details ... "Standardizing" the Horizontal Merger Guidelines

Merger Enforcement Without Market Definition?

The Horizontal Merger Guidelines have brought discipline to the unruly world of merger analysis; but have also accommodated advances in our understanding of the myriad ways in which firms compete and how mergers affect such competition.  However, in cases where there is better information about the effects of the merger than there is about the ... Merger Enforcement Without Market Definition?

Some Links …

There was a lot of backdating … yawn… oh, and Brett Favre is coming back The WSJ editorial page thinks the liberal boycotts of Whole Foods in response to CEO John Mackey’s op-ed on health care reform won’t have any real effects because because “real protest would require the store’s hyperprogressive customers to withdraw forever ... Some Links …