Some Links
Tom Barnett on “Current Issues in Merger Enforcement” — offering a defense against claims that the DOJ has been especially inactive in merger enforcement (see, e.g., this paper from Jon Baker and Carl Shapiro) and its decision not to challenge the Whirlpool/ Maytag transaction (see Geoff‘s earlier post) Avner Grief responds (“The claim that merchants’ ... Some Links
Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
In a new article in the June 2008 issue of Antitrust Source, Howard Marvel discusses what the rule of reason could and should look like in the Post-Leegin world as well as the different proposals to a rule of reason approach articulated by the states and the FTC in the recent Nine West consent order ... Harvard v. Chicago on Vertical Restraints
Austin Bound
My tour of duty as the FTC Scholar in Residence came to an end this past week. It was a fantastic opportunity for a junior scholar that I am grateful to have had. Plus, I couldn’t have picked a more interesting year to be at the Commission. Anyway, I’ll have more to say about all ... Austin Bound
Behavioral Economics and Antitrust at AAI
Related to Thom’s post on behavioral economics and the problem of conflicting or offsetting biases, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) held a conference on June 18th 2008 (audio available at the link above). The conference was, as I understand it, designed as a precursor to the AAI’s release of a “Transition Report” to the next ... Behavioral Economics and Antitrust at AAI
Academic Buzzwords
Apparently, the Local Government Association has told British bureaucrats in local and town governments to stop using 100 “non-words.” (CNN) From the story: The list includes the popular but vague term “empowerment;” “coterminosity,” a situation in which two organizations oversee the same geographical area; and “synergies,” combinations in which the whole is greater than the ... Academic Buzzwords
New Global Competition Policy: Class Cert & Merger Review in the UK
The new issue is available here, and features the following articles in Class Certification and Antitrust Actions: Why Economics Now Matters for Antitrust Class Actions at the Class Certification Stage by Wendy Bloom (Kirkland & Ellis) The Potential Impact of Twombly on Antitrust Class Actions by Wendy Bloom (Kirkland & Ellis) and James Langenfeld (LECG) ... New Global Competition Policy: Class Cert & Merger Review in the UK
Cert Granted in Linkline
The Supreme Court has granted cert in Pacific Bell Telephone Co., dba AT&T California v. linkLine Communications in order to address the question of whether a Section 2 “price squeeze” claim is viable under the Sherman Act if the defendant has no duty to deal. (HT: Scotusblog, which also has all of the relevant links). ... Cert Granted in Linkline
The NWU 2 Year Program
Bill Henderson has some thoughtful commentary on Northwestern University’s announcement of its 2 Year JD. He likes it. Here’s an excerpt: So let’s get this straight: NWU Law is going to attract applications from all the experienced, motivated students who want their elite JD degrees in two years versus three. Then it is going to ... The NWU 2 Year Program
Chairman Kovacic Announces the "FTC at 100" Self-Assessement Exercise
Chairman Kovacic has posted a paper announcing a major self-assessment initiative at the FTC: The FTC at 100: Into our Second Century. Here is the opening paragraph: Albert Cummins was one of the chief sponsors of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914. In the weeks before the passage of the legislation that would create ... Chairman Kovacic Announces the "FTC at 100" Self-Assessement Exercise
Call for Antitrust Papers
From the Mississippi College School of Law: The Mississippi College Law Review is issuing a call for papers pertaining to antitrust law. The Law Review has published several themed issues in the past two years, and wishes to publish an article concerning antitrust, as the Law Review has not published any articles on this topic ... Call for Antitrust Papers
"Its nonsensical to object"
So says Jagdish Bhagwati about the recent objections by 100 or so University of Chicago faculty members to the establishment of the Milton Friedman Institute. (HT: Chicago Tribune). Here’s the whole quote as reported from the Chicago Tribune: “It is nonsensical to object. . . . Chicago should be proud it has someone like Milton ... "Its nonsensical to object"
Economics & Ideology Again
Crooked Timber has a very interesting post up on the minimum wage debate (HT: Brian Leiter). I want to comment on the sub-theme of the post (and the theme picked up in the title of Leiter’s post), which was that economics ideologically driven by pro-market bias which results in the publication of pro-market findings over ... Economics & Ideology Again
