Showing results for: “price gouging”
Thomas and Wells on executive compensation
We recently welcomed Harwell Wells to the Illinois Corporate Colloquium to discuss his and Randall Thomas’s Executive Compensation in the Courts: Board Capture, Optimal Contracting and Officer Fiduciary Duties. The paper suggests a new approach to controlling executive compensation: the courts. The paper is partly historical, noting that courts have, in fact, been “surprisingly ... Thomas and Wells on executive compensation
Cooper and Wright Working Paper Cited in Congressional CARE Act Hearing
I’ve mentioned the CARE Act previously (here and here). On Wednesday, the House Committee on Courts and Competition held a hearing on the revised CARE Act — which would effectively immunize a host of anticompetitive state alcohol regulations from challenge. The policy tradeoffs here are that the higher prices and reduced consumption associated with competitive ... Cooper and Wright Working Paper Cited in Congressional CARE Act Hearing
Brad DeLong on Todd Henderson
More than two weeks ago, my co-blogger was subject to one of the most remarkable attacks I’ve seen in the blogosphere. I have declined so far to participate in the mostly hot-headed debate. But I write now because last Friday, J. Bradford DeLong, whose personal attack on Todd a couple of weeks ago was one ... Brad DeLong on Todd Henderson
McDonald’s, Mini-Meds, and Medical Loss Ratios: What’s to come, and what can Sebelius do about it?
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled McDonald’s May Drop Health Plan. The article reported that “McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.” The insurance plan at issue is ... McDonald’s, Mini-Meds, and Medical Loss Ratios: What’s to come, and what can Sebelius do about it?
Some Praise for the FTC
We dole out at least our fair share of criticism for the Federal Trade Commission here. Now its time for some credit where its due. Historically, one of the consistent highlights of the Commission’s output has been its competition policy advocacy work. In this case, the FTC (or at least the Bureau of Competition, Bureau ... Some Praise for the FTC
A fourth of Big Law is about to disappear
Am Law Daily reports on a Hildebrandt analysis (HT Law Blog) predicting “that nearly 27 percent of the 65,000 non-partner positions at Am Law 200 firms could be cut or recategorized as lower-paying positions over the next five to seven years.” Causes include “flat demand for legal services,” price pressure from clients, outsourcing, Six Sigma ... A fourth of Big Law is about to disappear
The disgrace of the legal services market
The WSJ Law Blog discusses N.Y.C.’s Chief Judge Lippman’s campaign to solve the growing problem of poor people facing civil cases without lawyers – 2.3 million people in all state courts last year. Lippman wants more funding for legal aid lawyers. The main existing funding mechanism, the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund, has been depleted ... The disgrace of the legal services market
Antitrust and Congress
Last Thursday and Friday, I attended a conference at Case Western Law School on the Roberts Court’s business law decisions. I presented a paper on the Court’s antitrust decisions. (The paper, described here, is now available on SSRN.) Adam Pritchard, Matt Bodie, and Brian Fitzpatrick presented papers considering the Court’s treatment of, respectively, securities law, ... Antitrust and Congress
Some Links
The myth of razors and blades by Randy Picker (HT: Peter Klein) David Balto Against Regulating Google A new antitrust lawsuit against Wal-Mart claiming it forces the prices for agricultural goods too low Is another antitrust suit against the NFL (this time by the players) brewing? More on the Microsoft-Google Antitrust Wars
Coase and the 800 Pound Man
Ronald Coase has been on my mind quite a bit lately. His ideas have made a couple of recent appearances in my business organizations class. As I’ve explained before, we spend the first day of Bus Orgs contrasting F.A. Hayek’s The Use of Knowledge in Society, which argues that central planning is destined to fail because planners cannot gather ... Coase and the 800 Pound Man
The Microsoft-Google Antitrust Wars and Public Choice: There is Too An Argument Against Rival Involvement in Antitrust Enforcement
How should an economist interpret the fact that Microsoft appears to be “behind” recent enforcement actions against Google in the United States and, especially, in Europe? “With skepticism!” Is the answer I suspect many readers will offer upon first glance. There is a long public choice literature, and long history in antitrust itself, that suggests ... The Microsoft-Google Antitrust Wars and Public Choice: There is Too An Argument Against Rival Involvement in Antitrust Enforcement
FTC v. Ovation Opinion
The opinion in Ovation (i.e. FTC v. Lundbeck) is now available. Commentary to follow. UPDATE: The first footnote in Judge Ericksen’s opinion notes that “the FTC and Minnesota began their closing argument by disclaiming the notion that these cases were ‘about unhappiness about the high price of Indocin.’ Nevertheless, the FTC and Minnesota cited in ... FTC v. Ovation Opinion
