Antitrust and the Midterm Elections
What do the midterm election results mean for antitrust, if anything? According to the American Antitrust Institute, not much: Despite predictions that the new Congress will result in a dramatically changed climate for business, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) predicts that the election will have relatively little impact on the enforcement of the nation’s antitrust ... Antitrust and the Midterm Elections
CPI Symposium featuring Ginsburg and Wright on Antitrust Sanctions
Competition Policy International’s newest issue has been released. The issue is focused on cartel sanctions and features a colloquium on a piece co-authored by Judge Douglas Ginsburg and me on Antitrust Sanctions, with comments from a fantastic lineup of antitrust economists and lawyers: Joseph Harrington (Johns Hopkins), Pieter Kalbfleisch (Netherlands Competition Authority), Mariana Tavares de ... CPI Symposium featuring Ginsburg and Wright on Antitrust Sanctions
Some Economics of Contractual Restrictions on Political Contributions by Cable Pundits
Jonathan Adler and Orin Kerr chime in over at VC to make the point that MSNBC’s rules against contributions from television personalities is pointless, or perhaps counterproductive. Here’s Adler: I agree with Orin that strict application of rules against political activity by journalists to opinionated commentators and hosts is silly. No one believes these figures ... Some Economics of Contractual Restrictions on Political Contributions by Cable Pundits
FTC Settlement Finalized
The FTC settlement with Intel has been finalized with one change the Commission’s press release describes as follows: After considering public comments, the FTC modified the proposed order to allow Intel to manufacture and sell a chip that it had in development before the proposed order was negotiated, but that would violate that order because ... FTC Settlement Finalized
Patent Thickets: Lessons from the Sewing Machine War
My colleague Adam Mossoff’s wonderful paper, A Stitch in Time: The Rise and Fall of the Sewing Machine Patent Thicket, was featured in a WSJ article focused on drawing implications for the smartphone market by studying our experience with the sewing machine patent pool. Professor Mossoff is optimistic about the opportunities for players in the ... Patent Thickets: Lessons from the Sewing Machine War
When Google’s Competitors Attack …
We’ve discussed the all too common tactic in antitrust of rival’s complaining to government agencies to get them to bring antitrust complaints. There is nothing particularly special about this tactic. As I’ve pointed out in the context of allegations by Microsoft and Microsoft-supported rivals of Google, conventional economic reasoning suggests that, without more, complaints from ... When Google’s Competitors Attack …
Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
Leah Brannon and co-author Kathleen Bradish, both of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, offer a skeptical view: In the half-century since du Pont, lower courts have continued to view market definition as a predicate to Section 7 claims. For example, the D.C. Circuit in FTC v. Cardinal Health, Inc. stated that “[d]efining the relevant market ... Will Federal Courts Adopt the 2010 HMGs?
Should Congress Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act?
While I’m focused on health care and antitrust, the question above is the subject of a conference at the Harvard Law School Petrie?Flom Center which looks like it has a great lineup. The conference is November 12th. Here is the conference description (HT: Larry Solum). Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at ... Should Congress Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act?
DOJ v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
This should be an interesting case to watch. As I’ve discussed, if one excludes policy speeches and restricts focus to enforcement action and activity, it has been thus far difficult to distinguish the Obama Antitrust Division from the Bush II Antitrust Division when it comes to single firm or allegedly exclusionary conduct. But the DOJ’s ... DOJ v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
In response to a week with what the NFL perceives to be a large number of tackles causing injury, the league is ready to announce a new policy in which players will be suspended for certain hits the league deems to dangerous or too likely to cause injury. This is a change from the NFL’s ... Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries
On Friday, I will be participating at an event at Technology Policy Institute, where I will be discussing the titular question along with Bob Crandall, Charles Jackson, Christopher Yoo, and Bruce Owen. Discussants are Joe Farrell, Tim Brennan, Carl Shapiro and Michael Salinger. As suggested below, my topic will be the recent antitrust enforcement actions ... Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries
Justin Wolfers on Recessions and the Economics of Marriage
As per usual, Justin Wolfers is there to clean up misconceptions about the data and explain what is really going on. As it turns out, claims that recessions have killed marriage have been grossly exaggerated. Here’s a picture Justin shows to demonstrate the point (the gray bars are recessions). Also interesting on the economics of ... Justin Wolfers on Recessions and the Economics of Marriage
