The Law and Economics of Privatizing Alcohol Sales
Economist and occasional TOTM guest blogger Steve Salop (Georgetown) recently sent me the following questions spurred by the local debate over Governor McConnell’s proposal to private the retailing of alcoholic beverages: I have my first antitrust class of the semester tomorrow. Among the issues I teach the first week are (1) the fact that demand ... The Law and Economics of Privatizing Alcohol Sales
More on the HMGs: Scoring Unilateral Effects with the GUPPI
Steve Salop, Serge Moresi, and John Woodbury have posted a very useful primer on the new HMGs new “value of diverted sales” approach to unilateral effects: the gross upward pricing pressure index (GUPPI). Here’s the basic idea: This concept of “value of diverted sales measured in proportion to the lost revenues attributable to the reduction ... More on the HMGs: Scoring Unilateral Effects with the GUPPI
Insurance markets in everything …
As the guys at MR would say…(ESPN). Hair insurance edition: Just call Troy Polamalu the man with the million dollar hair. The long, flowing black hair that tumbles out of Polamalu’s helmet and down his back — it’s nearly three feet long — has been insured for $1 million by Head and Shoulders, the shampoo ... Insurance markets in everything …
“The Next Big Thing Will Not Be Invented Here”
Intel Chairman and CEO Paul Otellini recently gave the keynote address at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum on the US regulation environment and its effect of innovation and economic growth (HT: CNET, WSJ). The speech got some play in the media because of its overall depressing tone for the US, and its frank criticism ... “The Next Big Thing Will Not Be Invented Here”
Deception and “Tells” in Business in Poker
The Economist points to a very interesting study by Stanford’s David Larcker and Anastasia Zakolyukina on the use of deception in the business environment (HT: Brian McCann). The article’s title, “How to Tell When Your Boss is Lying,” gets at the thrust of the piece. Larcker and Zakolyukina look at conference call transcripts from 2003 ... Deception and “Tells” in Business in Poker
Antitrust Formalism Is Dead! Long Live Antitrust Formalism!: Some Implications of American Needle v. NFL
My take on American Needle, forthcoming in the Cato Supreme Court Review and co-authored with Judd Stone. I’ll be discussing the paper at the Cato Institute Constitution Day on September 16th, and as luck would have it, on a panel with co-blogger Larry Ribstein (who will be offering his take on Jones v. Harris) is ... Antitrust Formalism Is Dead! Long Live Antitrust Formalism!: Some Implications of American Needle v. NFL
Some Competing Economics of Copyright and Fashion
In the WSJ, Scott Hemphill (Columbia) and Jeannie Suk (Harvard) defend Charles Schumer’s proposed bill, which would extend copyright protection to fashion design: Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) introduced a bill earlier this month that attempts to get around this problem. It prohibits only design copies that are substantially identical. In layman’s terms, a good ... Some Competing Economics of Copyright and Fashion
TOTM Welcomes Eric Helland
TOTM is very pleased to announce the addition of yet another permanent blogger to our roster. Eric Helland is an economist at Claremont-McKenna College and publishes extensively in law and economics. Among other accomplishments, Eric has served as a Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Eric’s publication record is extensive, and ... TOTM Welcomes Eric Helland
Do the New HMGs Move From Cheap Talk to Commitment on Out-of-Market Efficiencies?
One of the primary concerns with the Proposed HMGs was that the new approach would lead to small relevant markets in order to better reflect the Agencies’ views that the traditional approach understated the importance of competition between close substitutes. I highlighted one analytical concern with this approach in a previous blog post: The real ... Do the New HMGs Move From Cheap Talk to Commitment on Out-of-Market Efficiencies?
Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Commissioner Rosch has offered an interesting separate statement on the new HMGs. While favoring the new guidelines generally, Commissioner Rosch offers several criticisms. I concur with a few of these criticisms, for example, Commissioner Rosch also argues for a more empirical approach to merger analysis. I agree with that general proposition despite, as we shall ... Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Agencies Release New Horizontal Merger Guidelines
Here. Comments to follow from myself and others. So far, they look pretty similar to the proposed Guidelines on a quick read-through, but I’m still working my way through.
Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
In what has become an annual affair, around this time of the year, I like to make the case for law students to take antitrust. Each year, the post is edited and tweaked a little bit. So, without further ado, here is this year’s edition of “Why Take Antitrust?” As the start of the new ... Why Take Antitrust? (Fall 2010 Edition)
