What’s An Internet Monopolist? A Reply to Professor Wu
We’ve been reading with interest a bit of an blog squabble between Tim Wu and Adam Thierer ( see here and here) set off by Professor Wu’s WSJ column: “In the Grip of the New Monopolists.” Wu’s column makes some remarkable claims, and, like Adam, we find it extremely troubling. Wu starts off with some ... What’s An Internet Monopolist? A Reply to Professor Wu
When governments attack–and delusional law professors find the problem to be corporations
I find it interesting that many on the left, so intent on maintaining their anti-market narratives, distort reality so badly that black is white and up is down–and “government” is “corporations.” I’ve highlighted this before when discussing the misdirected criticisms (and solutions) of self-described privacy advocates who point the finger at Google when really they ... When governments attack–and delusional law professors find the problem to be corporations
Competition in the Evolving Digital Marketplace–Congressional Hearing
I will be testifying tomorrow before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy on competition in the digital marketplace. My testimony won’t be surprising to readers of this blog–in fact some of it was lifted directly from blog posts that have appeared here. Also on the panel are Richard Feinstein from the ... Competition in the Evolving Digital Marketplace–Congressional Hearing
When political preferences masquerade as political necessity
Josh has recently discussed his thoughts about the intellectual trajectory of the newly-minted CFPB and how that intellectual trajectory might influence the selection of the Bureau’s first director–presumed to be either Michale Barr or Elizabeth Warren. His is a brief, dispassionate and intellectually-honest assessment. But given Simon Johnson’s brief, intemperate and intellectually-devoid assessment of the ... When political preferences masquerade as political necessity
Brussels LLM in Competition Law and Economics
Nicolas Petit, who blogs at Chillin’ Competition and teaches at the University of Liege, has started an ambitious, new LLM in competition law and economics at something called the Brussels School of Competition. It strikes me as interesting and helpful for being an academic law and economics program focused very clearly on practitioners and practical ... Brussels LLM in Competition Law and Economics
Commissioner Rosch’s really weak case for “behavioral antitrust”
Josh’s ongoing series on “Nudging Antitrust” and FTC Commissioner Rosch’s recent thoughts on behavioral economics has been excellent and I look forward to the next installment. Rosch’s speech, not surprisingly, also elicited a strong response from me. What follows are my thoughts on Rosch’s speech, focusing on some of the same issues Josh addressed in ... Commissioner Rosch’s really weak case for “behavioral antitrust”
Our Apologies for the Interrupted Service
Our apologies for the intermittent posting. We’ve had some technical difficulties to work out after being shut down from spam attacks on a few occasions of late (some of you may have noticed a pottery website that was parked here while we were shut down). While we might be upgrading and cleaning the place up ... Our Apologies for the Interrupted Service
The Economics and Regulation of Payment Card Interchange Fees: Paper and Conference
Two related items from ICLE: As regular readers know, interchange fees are a frequent topic of conversation around the blog. Taking the conversation from the ether to the real world, ICLE has funded a white paper and is putting on a conference next week on the topic. The conference, in fact, grows out of the ... The Economics and Regulation of Payment Card Interchange Fees: Paper and Conference
Jim Huffman for US Senate
Congratulations (or is it condolences?) to my friend, colleague and former dean at Lewis & Clark Law School, Jim Huffman, who has secured the Oregon Republican nomination for US Senate. Jim now faces an arduous uphill battle against Ron Wyden in the general election. As a point of reference: Wyden has more than $3 million ... Jim Huffman for US Senate
Big News: TOTM Welcomes Larry Ribstein
We are very pleased to announce that Larry Ribstein is joining Truth on the Market. TOTM readers that have been with us from the beginning might recall that we got our start back in 2005 covering at Ideoblog while Larry went on vacation. For most of our readers, I suspect Professor Ribstein will require no ... Big News: TOTM Welcomes Larry Ribstein
Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
Chris Hoofnagle writing at the TAP blog about Facebook’s comprehensive privacy options (“To opt out of full disclosure of most information, it is necessary to click through more than 50 privacy buttons, which then require choosing among a total of more than 170 options.”) claims that: This approach is brilliant. The company can appease regulators ... Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
Apologies and comments
Dear readers: Apologies for our site’s absence yesterday. Apparently we were the target of a Russian spam attack. We’re back up, but we’ve had to close comments for the time being (except from the TOTM authors and previous guests who may login to post a comment). We’re working to get everything up and running again ... Apologies and comments
