Showing results for: “loyalty discounts”
The Efficiency of Metering Tie-Ins
Have you ever had to get on your hands and knees at Office Depot to find precisely the right printer cartridge? It’s maddening, no? Why can’t the printer manufacturers just settle on a single design configuration, the way lamp manufacturers use common light bulbs? You might think the printer manufacturer is trying to enhance its ... The Efficiency of Metering Tie-Ins
Nevada and the market for corporate law
I’m just catching up with this Board Member article about Delaware’s new competitor, Nevada. It notes that Nevada’s share of the out-of-state incorporation market rose from 4.6% in 2000 to 6% in 2007. Part of this may be due to lower fees than Delaware. But that can’t be the full explanation because all states are ... Nevada and the market for corporate law
FTC Microeconomics Conference
The Fourth Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference is scheduled for November 3 and 4, 2011. Here is the call for papers: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics will host a two day conference to bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection and public policy missions. Those areas include industrial ... FTC Microeconomics Conference
Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
I blogged a bit about the MetroPCS net neutrality complaint a few weeks ago. The complaint, you may recall, targeted the MetroPCS menu of packages and pricing offered to its consumers. The idea that MetroPCS, about one-tenth the size of Verizon, has market power is nonsense. As my colleague Tom Hazlett explains, restrictions on MetroPCS ... Net Neutrality, the MetroPCS Complaint, and Low-Income Consumers
Posner on corporate fiduciary duties
Francis Pileggi brings news of an interesting Posner opinion in CDX Liquidating Trust v. Venrock Associates, (7th Cir. March 29, 2011), a case decided under Delaware law. As Mr. Pileggi notes, the case held, among other things, that disclosure of a conflict of a director’s interest may “insulate the agreement from attack, but does not, per ... Posner on corporate fiduciary duties
Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
In recent years, antitrust scholars have largely agreed on a couple of propositions involving tying and bundled discounting. With respect to tying (selling one’s monopoly “tying” product only on the condition that buyers also purchase another “tied” product), scholars from both the Chicago and Harvard Schools of antitrust analysis have generally concluded that there should ... Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
Gans on Apple and Antitrust
Joshua Gans has an interesting post examining potential antitrust issues involving Apple, an issue we’ve discussed here and here. Gans focuses in on the two most relevant issues: There are two aspects that might raise antitrust concern: (i) Apple’s exclusivity-like requirement that no external payment links be permitted in apps and (ii) Apple’s most-favored customer ... Gans on Apple and Antitrust
Lawyers behaving badly: offering discounts!
PoL invited “Truth on the Market bloggers” to tackle this one. How could we resist? It seems that while the NC bar is apparently unfazed by 40% contingency fees, they’re right on the case when it comes to a law firm offering consumers a discount on services through Groupon. According to the ABAJ: [T]he Law ... Lawyers behaving badly: offering discounts!
The SEC recommends broker-dealer fiduciary duties
The SEC staff, acting under Dodd-Frank §913(g), has decided to recommend a “uniform fiduciary standard” for broker-dealers and investment advisors who provide investment advice to retail customers. The recommended rules would provide that the standard of conduct for all brokers, dealers, and investment advisers, when providing personalized investment advice about securities to retail customers (and ... The SEC recommends broker-dealer fiduciary duties
Law’s Information Revolution
For several months I’ve been threatening to unleash a new article that discusses the future of the law business, following the Death of Big Law. See my earlier posts on “law entrepreneurs” and “owning the law.” The day has at last arrived. The article is now called “Law’s Information Revolution,” co-authored by Bruce Kobayashi, and ... Law’s Information Revolution
Investor-Protective Analysis or Illegal Insider Trading?
One problem with a group blog is that you don’t always know what your co-bloggers are writing while you’re drafting a post. I drafted the following post without realizing that Larry (and Steve Bainbridge) had already gone to town on the matter — in more detail than I, not surprisingly. In any event, I’m posting ... Investor-Protective Analysis or Illegal Insider Trading?
Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
?Carl Shapiro’s (DOJ) speech at the ABA Fall Forum contains (at least) two interesting tidbits worth highlighting for TOTM readers. The first is a discussion of the DOJ’s case against Blue Cross Blue Shield, which as discussed here, turns on an economic analysis of the use of most-favored nations clauses in contractual arrangements with hospitals: ... Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
