Global Competition Policy Symposium on Section 5
The newest issue in Global Competition Policy includes a symposium (disclosure: for which I was the senior editor) on Section 5 enforcement under the FTC Act. Contributors included Commissioner Rosch’s attorney advisor Kyle Andeer, Doug Melamed (WilmerHale) and Joe Sims. My views on the expansion of Section 5 in the standard setting context, at least ... Global Competition Policy Symposium on Section 5
Taking Price Gouging Laws Seriously
Over at Organization and Markets, Peter Klein notes that consumers have been exploiting producers by taking advantage of market conditions, reducing their demand for gasoline, and earning windfall profits.
Who Does Best on the GRE?
Greg Mankiw links to a chart which provides the evidence (or click here for the larger version). The answer is physics (1899), math (1877), computer science (1862) and, of course, economics (1857) … followed by a handful of engineering majors and philosophy. Though, as Brian Leiter has happily reported in the past, and is still ... Who Does Best on the GRE?
The Antitrust Rumormill …
So, now that the election is over, it must be time to start speculating as to who will fill what spots in the Obama administration. I already made some predictions about what an Obama antitrust regime might look like, but who will be running the show at the DOJ and the FTC? The Deal reports ... The Antitrust Rumormill …
Will This Be a Bull Market for Law and Economics?
Larry Ribstein thinks so. The argument is that current economic conditions have exposed the costs of economic naivete and that now is the time for rational and serious discourse about the costs and benefits of specific regulations: The last election has revealed clearly the costs of economic cluelessness. McCain’s floundering in the face of financial ... Will This Be a Bull Market for Law and Economics?
Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
Danny Sokol makes some predictions about Post-Obama antitrust, and about my disappointment in what he perceives to be the likely direction of antitrust policy in the Obama administration: 1. increased challenges of mergers and monopolization cases, especially at DOJ 2. more consumer protection work at the FTC with a push to more expansive consumer rights ... Antitrust under President Obama: "I will direct my administration to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement"
No Google-Yahoo Deal
From the Google Public Policy Blog: In June we announced an advertising agreement with Yahoo! that gave Yahoo! the option of using Google to provide ads on its websites (and its publisher partners’ sites) in the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, both companies agreed to delay implementation of the agreement to give regulators ... No Google-Yahoo Deal
NY Times Endorses Pre-Chicago Antitrust
The NY Times (HT: Danny Sokol) decided to run an editorial blasts the DOJ’s Section 2 Report, asserting that the “antitrust division is supposed to be the agency looking out for the interests of American consumers, not big companies — a role it has clearly forgotten over the last eight years” citing the familiar bullet ... NY Times Endorses Pre-Chicago Antitrust
Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
It looks like the FTC is interested in doing more than just investigating RPM (see Thom’s excellent post), as the agency just announced a series of public workshops on the question of how best to distinguish pro-competitive uses of RPM from those that raise competitive concerns. From the announcement: The FTC is requesting public comment ... Speaking of Resale Price Maintenance …
The End of Libertarianism?
Not so fast, says Will Wilkinson is this must read (and well earned) dismantling of Jacob Weisberg’s recent Slate column which has been getting a lot of attention: If you think “libertarianism” caused the financial crisis, you’re either stupid or dishonest. Weisberg’s argument comes down to the single, simple thought that but for the resistance ... The End of Libertarianism?
First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
I think conferences like this are an effective way to attract talented economists to work on interesting antitrust problems. I can envision a similar event from the Bureau of Competition or policy shops featuring academic research from law and economics scholars. Here’s the conference announcement: The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics will host a ... First Annual FTC Microeconomics Conference: November 6-7
Antitrust Contests
Director of the FTC Bureau of Economics Michael Baye posted slides of Antitrust Contests from a conference presentation in Stockholm. I am a co-author on the project along with FTC economist Paul Pautler. The paper is an attempt to structurally estimate a Tullock contest model of antitrust litigation using some unique data on economic labor ... Antitrust Contests
