Trust the Customer!
Nobel Laureate (and GMU Prof) Vernon Smith has a must read column in the WSJ on the growing costs of health care and education. The problem? “[I]f third-party deep pockets pay whatever is the price B charges A this year, the effect is to reinforce the incentive to raise the price next year. Spending escalates, ... Trust the Customer!
CBS v. Howard Stern Complaint
Courtesy of ContractsProf Blog, here is what purports to be a copy of the elusive complaint in CBS v. Howard Stern. ContractsProf Blog includes the following disclaimer regarding the authenticity of the complaint: I obtained the complaint through someone who chooses to remain anonymous, who claims she obtained it simply by emailing the guys at ... CBS v. Howard Stern Complaint
A Reply to McCann on the Globetrotters
Professor McCann responds to my earlier post about the Globetrotters use of exclusive contracts, and more generally, erroneously inferring monopoly power from the observation of a single firm winning the competition for exclusives: While I understand Wright’s theoretical point, I find it hard to imagine how there can be actual competition for the exclusivity contracts ... A Reply to McCann on the Globetrotters
The Globetrotters and Competition for Contract
Microsoft, AT&T, Standard Oil, and …. the Globetrotters? The Globetrotters just might join this list of well known antitrust defendants. The Harlem Ambassadors, a rival exhibition basketball squad, have filed a complaint with the FTC concerning the Globetrotters’ use of “exclusivity windows” in leases with local arenas, which effectively prevent competitors from playing in the ... The Globetrotters and Competition for Contract
SCOTUS (Almost) Nails Another One …
Another 8-0 antitrust decision from SCOTUS. Very interesting. For those of you who have not been following, the Court rejected the longstanding, but almost uniformly criticized, presumption that patents confer market power for the purpose of antitrust analysis. WSJ Law Blog sums up the facts here, concluding with a quote from Steve Sunshine that the ... SCOTUS (Almost) Nails Another One …
SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
SCOTUS’ Dagher opinion is indeed good news. For those unfamiliar with the case, the Ninth Circuit held that the pricing policy of two joint ventures between Shell and Texaco were per se illegal under the Sherman Act. As it stood, the Ninth Circuit’s analysis threatened per se antitrust liability for joint ventures engaging in the ... SCOTUS Slays the "Exotic Beast"
Another Antitrust Suit Against the NCAA
The NCAA is no stranger to defending antitrust suits. Remember Maurice Clarett? How about the NIT? Tom Farrey of ESPN the Magazine brought my attention to a new and very interesting antitrust suit filed last week in Los Angeles on the theory that the NCAA has illegally conspired to prohibit member colleges from offering athletic ... Another Antitrust Suit Against the NCAA
Bargaining in the Shadow of Justice Alito
David Fischer at Antitrust Review posts an excerpt from Information Resources, Inc.’s (IRI) press release issued to explain the recent settlement of their ten year long litigation against VNU (A.C. Nielsen, IMS Health, and Dun and Bradstreet). IRI’s claims were based on an “above cost” bundling theory that Thom has discussed in detail here. In ... Bargaining in the Shadow of Justice Alito
Market Correction
Market Correction has become one of my favorite blogs. Don Boudreaux (George Mason and Cafe Hayek) and Andrew Morriss (Case Western Reserve University) post letters to the editors that they have written to editors at newspapers and magazines correcting instances of economic illiteracy. Here is a taste from a recent letter from Boudreaux in response ... Market Correction
Why Study Economics?
There are a lot of good reasons. Perhaps these will be the subject of another post. But earning potential has never been a big one. I recall an economics professor of mine during my undergraduate years at UCSD frequently describing the job of an economist as “talking money without ever earning any.” A recent study ... Why Study Economics?
Grimes on the KFTC's Microsoft Decision
Warren Grimes of the American Antitrust Institute (and Southwestern Law School) defends the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s recent Microsoft decision holding that Microsoft abused its dominant position by bundling Instant Messenger and Windows Media Player technologies to its operating system, and its order that Microsoft must sell unbundled versions. Grimes central point is that not ... Grimes on the KFTC's Microsoft Decision
More on JD/PhD's in Law and Economics
My colleage Francesco Parisi has chimed in on Vandy’s new law and economics program in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Though I cannot click through to the actual article in the Chronicle, Francesco notes that GMU has long had a “Law and Economics” Ph.D. program, offering six different degrees in law and economics (as opposed ... More on JD/PhD's in Law and Economics
