Let's Have New Section 2 Hearings!
Commissioner Rosch has offered a defense of the withdraw of the Section 2 Report. This is an important step and the Commissioner, who readers know I’ve criticized from time to time here, should be credited for laying out his specific objections to the Report. The objections are, in short, that the Report: Was “too ambitious” ... Let's Have New Section 2 Hearings!
Whitman on Libertarian Paternalism and the Public-Private Distinction
Here’s a great post from Glen Whitman on libertarian paternalism as applied to mortgages and the housing market. Glen takes Richard Thaler to task for his NY Times piece discussing behavioral economics in the mortgage market and advocating defaults for “plain vanilla” mortgages. Glen’s primary beef is that Thaler ignores the distinction between private and ... Whitman on Libertarian Paternalism and the Public-Private Distinction
Some Antitrust Links
My former FTC colleague David Wales joins Jones Day The CATO “New Course for Antitrust” video is now available for your viewing pleasure Microsoft on the release of Windows 7 in Europe without IE The FTC issues its interim report on authorized generics and Chairman Leibowitz claims that reverse payment settlements (based on a Bureau ... Some Antitrust Links
Available Now: Pioneers of Law and Economics
I’m very pleased to announce that my first book editing project (along with my colleague Lloyd Cohen), Pioneers of Law and Economics, is available on-line from Edward Elgar Publishing. The book includes a series of specially commissioned essays designed to honor the founders of the law and economics enterprise. From the book: The editors of ... Available Now: Pioneers of Law and Economics
ICANN and Antitrust in Sydney
I’ve just returned from Sydney where I was at the ICANN meetings giving a presentation (with Steve Salop of Georgetown Law) and participating in a Q&A on the potential economic consequences of vertical integration between registries and registrars. I had a great time on the panel, but the highlight for me was spending talking to ... ICANN and Antitrust in Sydney
A New Course for Antitrust?
Tomorrow at Cato at noon, Carl Shapiro (Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economics at the Antitrust Division) will be giving some remarks on the Obama administration’s antitrust agenda. I’ll be giving some brief remarks in response and participating in a discussion including Shapiro and Edwin Rockefeller and moderated by Douglas Ginsburg. Details are available here. ... A New Course for Antitrust?
Commissioner Rosch, Rhetoric, and the Relationship Between Economics and Antitrust
Economic theory is essential to antitrust law. It is economic analysis that constrains antitrust law and harnesses it so that it is used to protect consumers rather than competitors. And the relationship between economics and antitrust is responsible for the successful evolution of antitrust from its economically incoherent origins to its present state. In my ... Commissioner Rosch, Rhetoric, and the Relationship Between Economics and Antitrust
Will Section 2 Thwart the DOJ's New Antitrust Agenda?
George Priest has an excellent op-ed in the WSJ correctly calling out the Justice Department’s new Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney for attributing the financial crisis to a lack of antitrust enforcement: Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney claims that the Justice Department can aid economic recovery by prosecuting businesses that have been successful ... Will Section 2 Thwart the DOJ's New Antitrust Agenda?
Dear Mr. Toobin
Jeff Toobin has an interesting profile on John Roberts in the New Yorker (HT: Jonathan Adler who also takes issue with Toobin’s description of Leegin, but goes on to challenge Toobin’s general account of Roberts as a “stealth nominee”). Toobin’s column has very little to do with antitrust. with the exception of one sentence describing ... Dear Mr. Toobin
Some Links
A few blog posts that caught me eye today: Justin Wolfers with an accessible explanation of the identification problem with broadband usage data WSJ: The rumored EU remedy for the “new” Microsoft browser case — requiring the firm to distribute its product with “a so-called ballot screen that would present a new computer user with ... Some Links
Together Again: The FTC and DOJ Join Forces in American Needle v. NFL
The FTC joined the DOJ brief in American Needle v. National Football League arguing that the Supreme Court should deny certiorari. The brief characterizes the question presented as: Whether NFLP, the NFL, and the teams functioned as a “single entity” when granting the company an exclusive headwear license and therefore could not violate Section 1 ... Together Again: The FTC and DOJ Join Forces in American Needle v. NFL
Lambert's Latest on RPM in the William and Mary Law Review
The law and economics of RPM have been a frequent topic of discussion here for Thom and I especially, ranging from the empirical evidence on RPM, to competitive resale price maintenance without free riding, to the inappropriate use of the term “price-fixing” by journalists some who should know better to describe RPM, to the Commission’s ... Lambert's Latest on RPM in the William and Mary Law Review
