The Archives

Everything written by Geoffrey A. Manne on law, economics, and more

The Ethicist strikes again

One of my students brought to my attention this pearl of wisdom from (what appears to be this week’s forthcoming) The Ethicist column in the NYT: I am a 13-year-old boy. My school has a monthly pizza sale. Parents buy pies from a pizzeria and sell them to us for $1 a slice. I bought ... The Ethicist strikes again

Whose university is it?

There’s been some recent (and widely disparate) posting on the nature and governance of universities. See, for example, here (Tsai on sports and higher ed), here (Oesterle on endowment spending), here (Bollier on the knowledge commons; see especially comments by me and Josh in the . . . comments section (duh)), here (Posner on tenure), ... Whose university is it?

Measure 37 Upheld

You may or may not know that Oregon’s Measure 37 — our anti-takings measure — was ruled unconstitutional last year by a state trial court. See this post by Todd Zywicki. But today the Oregon Supreme Court reversed, and handed the effort to quash Measure 37 a resounding defeat. The court’s holding, on each of ... Measure 37 Upheld

On disclosure: Hands-tying

Dale Oesterle has called Gretchen Morgenson a “national treasure.” Today Larry Ribstein exposes the treasure for fool’s gold. I’m with Larry on this one. Morgenson’s article on executive compensation is yellow journalism at its worst (well, at least a far as business journalism goes. And really — what else is there?). As Larry suggests, hatchet ... On disclosure: Hands-tying

Donaldson & Pitt & Levitt & Breeden (Oh my!)

The Council on Foreign Relations puts on some really impressive webcasts/conference calls. Here’s one TOTM readers may be especially interested in (if, that is, you’re one of those lucky people who doesn’t get hives listening to extended bouts of highly-politicized self rationalization): The SEC in a Globalizing Securities Market: A Conversation with the Past Four ... Donaldson & Pitt & Levitt & Breeden (Oh my!)

One of many much-needed lessons about foreign oil

A break in the invisible hand

It seems that I have broken my hand. Blogging will suffer (or improve, depending on your point of view). I know my co-bloggers will continue to provide the sort of top-notch commentary you’ve come to expect from TOTM, and I will strive to peck out a couple of posts over the next few weeks.

Making markets seem thicker

The Internet (read: inexpensive information dissemination) comes to the notoriously informationally-challenged housing market. The WSJ reports on a new website, zillow.com, which, as the WSJ says, uses data such as tax records, sales history and the actual prices of “comparables” — homes in your area that are similar to yours — to come up with ... Making markets seem thicker

Adam Smith

That dapper fellow who is our “favicon” is Adam Smith. In case you couldn’t tell.

Directors' Duties Even in Solvent Firms

In the Ribstein & Alces paper mentioned below by Keith, Ribstein & Alces write: The problem with holding that directors have duties to the “corporation” is that the corporation is composed of contracts among claimants with varying and possibly conflicting interests in the firm’s wealth. In solvent firms this is not troubling. Serving the firm’s ... Directors' Duties Even in Solvent Firms

New antitrust blawg

It’s called Antitrust Review. It’s the result of a merger between the antitrust division of Law & Society Blog and (Anti-)Trust Me, both original members of our ultra-exclusive blogroll. Here’s what Hanno Kaiser, one of the blog’s founders, and a friend and former colleague of mine, says about the blog: Antitrust Review will feature news ... New antitrust blawg

Paternalism and the iPod

I know it’s like shooting fish in a barrel to go after the tort bar and the cult of litigation masquerading as paternalism (or is it paternalism masquerading as litigation?), but this is too ridiculous to forebear. Over at Tech Law Prof Blog, Mark Giangrande reports that Apple has been hit with a lawsuit claiming ... Paternalism and the iPod