Showing results for: “price gouging”
Searle Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy Conference
If you’re in Chicago next week, and even if you’re not, go check out the Second Annual Searle Center Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy conference at Northwestern University School of Law. The conference will take place September 25th and 26th and has a great lineup including a pretty good mix of theory and empirics. My ... Searle Antitrust Economics and Competition Policy Conference
How Competitive Is the Health Insurance Market, Really?
Not very, according to the President in his recent health care speech, making the case that lack of competition and for-profit monopolists are what ails the health care market: “Consumers do better when there is choice and competition. Unfortunately, in 34 states, 75% of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In ... How Competitive Is the Health Insurance Market, Really?
Antitrust, Multi-Dimensional Competition, and Innovation: Do We Have an Antitrust-Relevant Theory of Competition Now?
My essay on economics, innovation, and antitrust, forthcoming in Manne & Wright’s forthcoming volume on Regulating Innovation: Competition Policy and Patent Law Under Certainty (introductory chapter available here), is now available on SSRN. The essay is a revisiting of a fundamental challenge Harold Demsetz offered to antitrust decades ago that I believe has gone, from ... Antitrust, Multi-Dimensional Competition, and Innovation: Do We Have an Antitrust-Relevant Theory of Competition Now?
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Alex Tabarrok reviews economic growth textbooks and recommends this one Ribstein on the proxy access battles Private antitrust litigation is increasing quickly (picture here) — I’m setting the over/under for 2010 at 1600 cases Steve Salop on the appropriate Section 2 rule of reason standard for refusal to deal and price squeezes by unregulated, vertically ... Some Links
Another Way DOJ Might Pursue "Vigorous Antitrust Enforcement in This Challenging Era"
DOJ’s top antitrust enforcer Christine Varney had hardly gotten settled in her office before she repudiated the existing DOJ guidelines on policing single-firm conduct. In the spirit of Rahm Emanuel’s famous “never let a serious crisis go to waste” directive, Ms. Varney invoked the current economic crisis as grounds for her decision to throw out ... Another Way DOJ Might Pursue "Vigorous Antitrust Enforcement in This Challenging Era"
An Addendum on Jones v. Harris in Response to Professor Birdthistle: Ex Ante Competition, Cognitive Biases and Behavioral Economics
Professor Birdthistle has a very thoughtful reply to my earlier post over at the Conglomerate on Jones v. Harris and behavioral economics. I thank Professor Birdthistle for his reply. I’ve learned a great deal about Jones v. Harris from reading his posts at the Conglomerate and have no doubt that I’ll learn more from this ... An Addendum on Jones v. Harris in Response to Professor Birdthistle: Ex Ante Competition, Cognitive Biases and Behavioral Economics
Jones v. Harris and Some Ramblings on Burdens of Proof, Empirical Evidence, and Behavioral Law and Economics
Much has been made about the importance of Jones v. Harris as a battle in the ongoing war between behavioral economics and rational choice/neoclassical framework (see, e.g. the NYT). If the case if to be about the appropriate economic methodology or model for assessing legal questions, it is definitely an interesting turn to have Judge ... Jones v. Harris and Some Ramblings on Burdens of Proof, Empirical Evidence, and Behavioral Law and Economics
Thaler’s Unsound Argument About the Public Insurance Option
University of Chicago economist (and behavioralist doyen) Richard Thaler thinks “the question of whether a ‘public option’ should be part of the health care solution” is just “one big distraction.” In Sunday’s New York Times, Thaler argues that the debate over the public option is a “red herring” if, as President Obama insists, the public ... Thaler’s Unsound Argument About the Public Insurance Option
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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 …
Questioning the UK Competition Commission Ombudsman Plan
In April 2008, the UK Competition Commission issued its Final Report culminating from its grocery sector inquiry. Along with supermarket concentration, the concern that emerges out of that Report is that supermarkets will use their power to negotiate sharp deals with suppliers. For example: In emails from store buyers seized during its investigation, the Commission ... Questioning the UK Competition Commission Ombudsman Plan
Antitrust, Obsolescence and the "New Economy" (Again)
Gordon Crovitz (WSJ) plays the new economy card on antitrust. Its a familiar wrap for those in the antitrust community that hit its peak in the original Microsoft days with virtually every competition policy scholar and commentator chiming in with an opinion about whether the internet and network effects and so forth rendered antitrust obsolete. ... Antitrust, Obsolescence and the "New Economy" (Again)
Chicago, Neo-Chicago and Chicago Squared: A Comment from David Evans and Jorge Padilla
In a recent post, Josh jokingly offered a mathematical “proof” to demonstrate that the Neo-Chicago approach to antitrust was simply an extension of the basic Chicago School approach: Dan identifies the “Neo-Chicago School”, a term coined by David Evans and Jorge Padilla, as the optimal “third way.” Basically, the Neo-Chicago school is the combination of ... Chicago, Neo-Chicago and Chicago Squared: A Comment from David Evans and Jorge Padilla
