Showing results for: “price gouging”
The DOJ’s Problematic Attack on Property Rights Through Merger Review
The DOJ’s recent press release on the Google/Motorola, Rockstar Bidco, and Apple/ Novell transactions struck me as a bit odd when I read it. As I’ve now had a bit of time to digest it, I’ve grown to really dislike it. For those who have not followed Jorge Contreras had an excellent summary of events ... The DOJ’s Problematic Attack on Property Rights Through Merger Review
Competition for Distribution, Search Engine Edition
A recent report notes that while Apple may be shifting away from Google Maps, Google remains the default search engine in Safari, and thus, remains the default search on a variety of Apple devices. Google competes vigorously for this right; indeed, competition among search engines drives the price paid to Apple for its ability to ... Competition for Distribution, Search Engine Edition
David Schleicher on City Unplanning
Forbes interviews my colleague and office neighbor David Schleicher on his new and very interesting paper, City Unplanning. This paper continues Schleicher’s interesting line of research on the law and economics of cities with a creative and powerful analysis of the political economy of zoning in big cites. Here’s a brief snippet from the start ... David Schleicher on City Unplanning
Greg Werden in Defense of Defining Markets
One of the more significant papers in antitrust of late has been Professor Kaplow’s Why (Ever) Define Markets? Kaplow provocatively argues that the entire “market definition/ market share” paradigm of antitrust is misguided and beyond repair. Kaplow describes the exclusive role of market definition in that paradigm as generating inferences about market power, argues that ... Greg Werden in Defense of Defining Markets
A Tale of Two Subsidies
Last week’s business news highlighted two tremendous subsidy programs. In one case, the company received no direct payment for product development. None of its suppliers received targeted subsidies to produce parts. But consumers were subsidized to encourage them to buy the product. In the other case, the company received direct payments to underwrite the cost ... A Tale of Two Subsidies
Is Dental Care a Preventive Measure Health Insurers Must Cover? Let’s Hope Not.
I recently heard an ominous NPR story on the rise in trips to the emergency room by people seeking dental treatment. In 2009 alone, Tennessee’s emergency rooms had more than 55,000 dental-related visits — five times as many as for burns. Florida’s emergency rooms experienced over 115,000 ER visits for dental matters in 2010. Charges for those visits totaled $88 million. This ... Is Dental Care a Preventive Measure Health Insurers Must Cover? Let’s Hope Not.
Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards 2012
The Institute for Competition Law and GW Law have put together the Antitrust Writing Awards. You can vote on academic or business articles here. I’m very pleased to report that one of my articles — Does Antitrust Enforcement in High-Tech Markets Benefit Consumers? Stock Price Evidence from FTC v. Intel (Review of Industrial Organization) — ... Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards 2012
The Magical World of Mandates
It seems President Obama has discovered a magical cure for his contraception controversy: simply force insurance companies to provide free coverage for contraceptive services, but only for women who work for organizations that qualify for exemption from the original mandate that requires contraceptive coverage be part of any respectable (i.e., Obama-approved) health plan. Never mind ... The Magical World of Mandates
Randomizing Regulation
An interesting post on the University of Pennsylvania Reg Blog from Michael Abramowicz, Ian Ayres, and Yair Listokin (AAY) on “Randomizing Regulation,” based upon their piece in the U Penn L. Rev. If legislators disagree about the efficacy of a proposed policy, why not resolve the disagreement with a bet? One approach would be to impose ... Randomizing Regulation
Congratulations to Bill Baer
President Obama has, as rumored, appointed Bill Baer (Arnold & Porter) to head the Antitrust Division. Reuters reports: Baer, who is the chair of Arnold and Porter’s Antitrust Practice Group, also previously headed the Federal Trade Commission’s competition division when it stopped a merger between Staples and Office Depot in 1997. He will replace Sharis ... Congratulations to Bill Baer
The Federal Reserve Weighs in on Housing Policy
Last month, the Federal Reserve released a study, titled “The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations,” which offers prescriptions on how to cure the housing mess. Given the importance of this issue to the nation’s economic wellbeing—a large portion of our assets are tied up in real estate, and the associated housing-wealth effects ... The Federal Reserve Weighs in on Housing Policy
Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
Last week Thom posted about the government’s attempt to hide the cost of taxes and regulatory fees in commercial airfares. Apparently Spirit Airlines is highlighting another government-imposed cost of doing business by advertising a new $2/ticket fee that the airline has imposed. According a CNN report yesterday: Spirit Airlines says a new federal regulation aimed ... Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
