Some Links
Tabarrok on the Economics of sexual harassment Leiter on American legal education, scholarship, and against the new Yale Ph.D. in law Bainbridge on LIBOR and the prospects for a “bubble law” An Interview with Senator Mike Lee on antitrust issues
Some Skepticism About the Role of Behavioral Economics in the FTC’s Antitrust Analysis
Given the enthusiasm for application of behavioral economics to antitrust analysis from some corners of the Commission and the academy, I found this remark from Alison Oldale at the Federal Trade Commission interesting (Antitrust Source): Behavioral economists are clearly correct in saying that people and firms are not the perfect decision makers using perfect information ... Some Skepticism About the Role of Behavioral Economics in the FTC’s Antitrust Analysis
David Post on Issue Versus Outcome Voting in NFIB v. Sebelius
David Post has a really interesting post this morning on the Volokh Conspiracy about the implications of issue versus outcome voting in NFIB v. Sebelius. Post and Steve Salop’s 1992 Georgetown Law Journal article sets forth an analysis of issue versus outcome voting. The blog post works through that analysis in the context of the ... David Post on Issue Versus Outcome Voting in NFIB v. Sebelius
Justice Roberts Disses Economists
I’ve got nothing to add on the substantive merits of today’s big decision – but the following line got my attention: To an economist, perhaps, there is no difference between activity and inactivity; both have measurable economic effects on commerce. But the distinction between doing something and doing nothing would not have been lost on the ... Justice Roberts Disses Economists
Who Killed Market Definition?
Louis Kaplow’s Why (Ever) Define Markets? in the Harvard Law Review was one of the most provocative papers in the antitrust literature over the past few years. We’ve discussed it here. I wrote: Kaplow provocatively argues that the entire “market definition/ market share” paradigm of antitrust is misguided and beyond repair. Kaplow describes the exclusive ... Who Killed Market Definition?
SCOTUS Grants Certiorari in Phoebe Putney
From Bloomberg: The U.S. Supreme Court said it will decide whether states can block antitrust scrutiny of hospital mergers such as Phoebe Putney Health System Inc.’s acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Georgia. The justices today said they will hear the Federal Trade Commission’s appeal of a U.S. appellate court ruling that the proposed purchase of HCA Inc.-owned ... SCOTUS Grants Certiorari in Phoebe Putney
Economist Kevin Murphy to Charles River Associates
I am very pleased to report that Kevin Murphy – economist extraordinaire, recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, Bates Clark Medal winner, and of course, fellow UCLA Bruin — has agreed to join Charles River Associates as a Senior Consultant beginning May 2013 when his contract with Navigant Economics expires. As a fellow Senior Consultant at ... Economist Kevin Murphy to Charles River Associates
CPI Interview and Update on Ginsburg & Wrights’ “Antitrust Sanctions”
Competition Policy International has published an interview with Judge Douglas Ginsburg and me following up on our 2010 article “Antitrust Sanctions.” The interview ranges from topics such as whether the Occupy movements impact our proposal for use of debarment as an antitrust sanction in the United States to fairness concerns and global trends in antitrust ... CPI Interview and Update on Ginsburg & Wrights’ “Antitrust Sanctions”
Ginsburg & Wright on Dynamic Analysis and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions
Judge Douglas Ginsburg (D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals; NYU Law) and I have posted “Dynamic Antitrust and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions” to SSRN. Our article is forthcoming in Volume 78 (2) of the Antitrust Law Journal. We offer a cautionary note – from an institutional perspective – concerning the ever-increasing and influential calls for greater ... Ginsburg & Wright on Dynamic Analysis and the Limits of Antitrust Institutions
Changes at the FTC Bureau of Economics
Recently, the FTC announced that Howard Shelanksi would be taking charge of the Bureau of Economics on July 1st. Now comes news that DOJ economist Ken Heyer (and UCLA Bruin!) — longtime Economics Director at the Division — will be moving over to the Commission as Deputy Director for Antitrust. Leemore Dafny (Northwestern) will also come ... Changes at the FTC Bureau of Economics
RIP, Elinor Ostrom
Nobel Laureate (and UCLA alumna) Elinor Ostrom has passed. From the IU press release: The entire Indiana University community mourns the passing today of Distinguished Professor Elinor Ostrom, who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for her groundbreaking research on the ways that people organize themselves to manage resources. Ostrom, 78, died of ... RIP, Elinor Ostrom
