DOJ AAG Designate Christine Varney on Section 2, Europe, Google & A Puzzling Statement About Error Costs
Predicting what antitrust enforcement regimes in the current economic environment is a tricky business. I’ve done my best here. One probably cannot think of a better source for such predictions than those from the soon-to-be AAG Christine Varney, who recently spoke at an American Antitrust Institute panel on Section 2 enforcement (you can hear the ... DOJ AAG Designate Christine Varney on Section 2, Europe, Google & A Puzzling Statement About Error Costs
Law and New Institutional Economics for Law Professors
Victor Fleischer and Phil Weiser are putting on a Law and New Institutional Economics workshop for law professors in June. The conference announcement is here. I believe Thom attended last year’s installment, and I will be on the program this year. Here are more details: New Institutional Economics (NIE) is an interdisciplinary methodology that draws ... Law and New Institutional Economics for Law Professors
Bittlingmayer and Hazlett on the Stimulus
George Bittlingmayer (University of Kansas) and my colleague Tom Hazlett look at the market response to the stimulus and find it none too enthusiastic: President Barack Obama’s “stimulus” plan invokes the 1930s fiscal strategy put forward by British economist John Maynard Keynes, who saw capitalism as pretty much spent. Having exhausted their store of innovative ... Bittlingmayer and Hazlett on the Stimulus
Some Reactions to the Obama Housing Plan
First, Peter Klein: I am bewildered. But, more than that, I am angry. I can’t count how many news accounts I’ve seen about the poor, struggling homeowners who can’t make the monthly mortgage payment, are about to be foreclosed, and risk losing the family home, yard, white picket fence, and piece of the American Dream. ... Some Reactions to the Obama Housing Plan
TradeComet.com v. Google (UPDATED: With Complaint)
Anybody want to share a copy of the complaint? (Email: jwrightg at gmu dot edu). UPDATE: Here’s a copy of the TradeComet Complaint. Thanks to an anonymous reader. Some brief comments on the highlights of the Complaint. Per Thom’s comment below, it looks like the thrust of the complaint is not the price hike which ... TradeComet.com v. Google (UPDATED: With Complaint)
What's the Empirical Evidence on RPM?
I’ve been reading the papers for the FTC RPM Workshops, though I cannot attend. On the procompetitive side, I especially recommend Ben Klein’s explanation of how RPM facilitates the supply of promotional services in the absence of dealer free-riding. Critics of RPM, in my view, generally do not understand the fundamental economic point that retailer ... What's the Empirical Evidence on RPM?
Froeb & Ganglmair on Antitrust and Patent Holdup
Luke Froeb and Bernard Ganglmair have posted An Equilibrium Analysis of Antitrust as the Solution to Patent Holdup. Here’s the abstract: After downstream manufacturers make relationship-specific investments to develop products using upstream patented technology, they can be held-up” by patentees, sometimes called “patent ambush.” If manufacturers anticipate hold-up, they will be reluctant to make relationship-specific ... Froeb & Ganglmair on Antitrust and Patent Holdup
Elhauge Lecture on Antitrust, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation
Here’s the program announcement: All are invited to The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Distinguished Lecture in Antitrust, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation, with 2009 Guest Lecturer Prof. Einer Elhauge, Harvard Law School. The lecture will be held at the American University Washington College of Law, 4801 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, DC, 6th floor, on February 24, 2009. ... Elhauge Lecture on Antitrust, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation
New and Improved: Is Antitrust Too Complicated for Generalist Judges
Co-author Michael R. Baye (of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and formerly Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission) and I have posted a new and improved version of our paper, Is Antitrust Too Complicated For Generalist Judges: The Impact of Economic Complexity and Judicial Training on Appeals, ... New and Improved: Is Antitrust Too Complicated for Generalist Judges
Evans on Antitrust & the Global Internet Economy
From the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, David Evans explores the implications of the emerging global internet economy for antitrust. Here’s the closing two paragraphs: We can expect the web-based industries will follow the same trajectory, and thus far they have. Massive entry has taken place. As with many new industries, we remember the YouTubes ... Evans on Antitrust & the Global Internet Economy
FTC RPM Workshops This Week
Tuesday and Thursday this week the FTC will be hosting the first two in a series of workshops on Resale Price Maintenance. Presentation materials, slides, and papers are available on the website.
Vizio Files Monopolization Suit Against Funai
This looks like an interesting suit involving antitrust, patents, and standard setting: VIZIO, Inc., America’s HDTV Company, announced today that it has filed an antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit in the United States District Court, Central District of California, against Funai Electronics Co., Ltd., a Japanese distributor of digital televisions and related components. In the ... Vizio Files Monopolization Suit Against Funai
