Showing results for: “price gouging”
The Bulldozer Solution to the Housing Crisis
My inaugural blog on two-sided markets did not elicit much reaction from TOTM readers. Perhaps it was too boring. In a desperate attempt to generate a hostile comment from at least one housing advocate, I have decided to advocate bulldozing homes in foreclosure as one (of several) means to relieve the housing crisis. Not with ... The Bulldozer Solution to the Housing Crisis
A new approach to consumer regulation: firm ownership
We have heard a lot about how business exploits consumer biases and therefore we need more regulation and disclosure. By the time the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau gets up to speed, maybe the regulators will realize their dream of consumers behaving as they should. In the meantime, Ryan Bubb and Alex Kaufman have another approach ... A new approach to consumer regulation: firm ownership
Surowiecki on small firms
The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki writes that politicians are misguided in the current push to help small business. He notes a recent book on how regulatory bias against the growth of A & P, including the Robinson-Patman Act, hurt consumers by raising prices. He also notes evidence that the countries with the highest percentage of ... Surowiecki on small firms
New York Taxis
The New York Times reports that the most recent price for a taxi in New York medallion is $1,000,000. Wikipedia reports that there are 13,237 licensed cabs in New York. (A “medallion” is the physical form of a taxicab license.) This means that the present value of the rents created by limiting taxicabs is $13,237,000,000 ... New York Taxis
The Fate of the FCC’s Open Internet Order–Lessons from Bank Fees
Economists have long warned against price regulation in the context of network industries, but until now our tools have been limited to complex theoretical models. Last week, the heavens sent down a natural experiment so powerful that the theoretical models are blushing: In response to a new regulation preventing banks from charging debit-card swipe fees ... The Fate of the FCC’s Open Internet Order–Lessons from Bank Fees
The Return of Chicago Law and Economics?
A few years ago, spurred on by Justice Scalia’s observation that the school had lost “the niche it once had as a rigorous and conservative law school,” there was some blog discussion about the apparent decline of Law and Economics at the University of Chicago. Professor Bainbridge observed that it was certainly the case that ... The Return of Chicago Law and Economics?
Shouldn’t the Wall Street Occupiers Oppose Obamacare?
It’s hard to discern much that’s coherent — much less cogent — from the cacophony that is Occupy Wall Street, but one valid complaint continually sounds through the noise: When business interests get in bed with the government, injustice tends to result. The Wall Street Occupiers are of course focused primarily on bailed-out financial firms (though not on union favorites GM ... Shouldn’t the Wall Street Occupiers Oppose Obamacare?
Illinois Corporate Colloquium: Choi on SEC backdating investigations
Yesterday at the Illinois Corporate Colloquium Steve Choi presented his paper (with Pritchard and Weichman), Scandal Enforcement at the SEC: Salience and the Arc of the Option Backdating Investigations. Here’s the abstract: We study the impact of scandal-driven media scrutiny on the SEC’s allocation of enforcement resources. We focus on the SEC’s investigations of option ... Illinois Corporate Colloquium: Choi on SEC backdating investigations
The uncorporation and energy infrastructure
My paper, Energy Infrastructure Investment and the Rise of the Uncorporation has been published in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. It includes a useful summary of my views of uncorporations applied to larger firms. As of now it’s behind a pay wall. Here’s the abstract: While most large U.S. businesses have long ... The uncorporation and energy infrastructure
ACS Blog Debate on Google: Retrograde Antitrust Analysis is No Fit for Google
I am participating in an online “debate” at the American Constitution Society with Professor Ben Edelman. The debate consists of an opening statement and concluding responses to be posted later in the week. Professor Edelman’s opening statement is here. I am cross-posting my opening statement here at TOTM, and will cross-post my closing statement later ... ACS Blog Debate on Google: Retrograde Antitrust Analysis is No Fit for Google
Dear Michael Pollan: When It Comes to GM Food, the Problem is Regulation, Not Its Absence.
Before concluding that “there ought to be a law” to remedy an unhappy situation, one should ask whether it’s really a law that’s causing the problem in the first place. I was reminded of that principle this afternoon when I read some remarks by Michael Pollan, doyen of the “slow food” movement, in today’s New ... Dear Michael Pollan: When It Comes to GM Food, the Problem is Regulation, Not Its Absence.
Zywicki on the Unintended Consequences of the Durbin Bank Fees
Here’s Professor Zywicki in the WSJ on the debit card interchange price controls going into effect, and their unintended but entirely predictable consequences: Faced with a dramatic cut in revenues (estimated to be $6.6 billion by Javelin Strategy & Research, a global financial services consultancy), banks have already imposed new monthly maintenance fees—usually from $36 ... Zywicki on the Unintended Consequences of the Durbin Bank Fees
