Price Discrimination is Good, Part 2
Yesterday I started a new TOTM feature on why price discrimination is good in light of the bad rap that the practice gets in public policy circles and with the public generally. Lest one believe that the examples of regulatory scrutiny of price discrimination in antitrust and regulated industries are special cases, a reader points ... Price Discrimination is Good, Part 2
Price Discrimination Is Good, Part I
Price discrimination involves a firm taking advantage of different elasticities of demand for the same goods by charging different prices relative to marginal cost. Price discrimination is ubiquitous in our economy but remains a four letter word in policy and regulation circles. We observe price discrimination in all sorts of product markets, from small and ... Price Discrimination Is Good, Part I
Happy Thanksgiving!
To TOTM readers. And Happy Thanksgiving and Retirement to my colleague, now of the Emeritus variety, Gordon Tullock.
FTC Seeks Cert in Rambus
The press release is here. The petition is here. The questions presented, as framed by the Commission are: 1. Whether deceptive conduct that significantly contributes to a defendant’s acquisition of monopoly power violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act. 2. Whether deceptive conduct that distorts the competitive process in a market, with the effect of ... FTC Seeks Cert in Rambus
College Athlete Drives a Hard Bargain Over Letter of Intent
Seth Davis (Sports Illustrated) has an interesting column on the intersection of two issues I hold near and dear: contracts and college basketball. For those unfamiliar, college recruits in football, basketball and some other sports sign National Letters of Intent (NLI) committing themselves to spend at least one full year at the college. The NLI ... College Athlete Drives a Hard Bargain Over Letter of Intent
The Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick Maker (2.0)
My colleague Tom Hazlett strikes again in Barron’s on Google’s transformation from its initial reluctance to advertise and its desire to stick to the non-profit sector to an unrelenting market driven approach to its discovery that search-term clicks were … well … profitable. Here’s Hazlett: They discovered that Google’s clean page layout provided a clean ... The Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick Maker (2.0)
Doherty on Empirical Toolkits and the Future of ELS
UCLA’s Joe Doherty is guest blogging over at ELS Blog and is first post is a must read for folks engaged in empirical legal studies generally which strikes at the heart of defining our enterprise. Doherty points out the tendency toward the adoption of narrow toolkits within fields (methodological differences between political scientists and economists ... Doherty on Empirical Toolkits and the Future of ELS
Bainbridge on the Cuban Insider Trading Case
Professor Bainbridge offers a very detailed analysis of the complaint in the SEC’s case against Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Wanted: NSF Law and Social Science Program Director
Last Spring, I had the pleasure of serving on the NSF Law and Social Science Advisory Panel. It was an honor to be invited and a fantastic experience that gave me exposure to accomplished interdisciplinary scholars in fields and perspectives with which I rarely have the opportunity to interact. The NSF is now seeking a ... Wanted: NSF Law and Social Science Program Director
Top Ten Econ Blogs!
TOTM has never been afraid of a little bit of self-promotion, but in this case, we’re happy to report that the promotion is coming from the outside. Craig Newmark, of the always excellent Newmark’s Door, has ranked us in the Top 10 “Really Best Economics Blogs.” Check out the other blogs on the list. Very ... Top Ten Econ Blogs!
Inter-Agency Teleseminar Showdown
You may recall we’ve been blogging quite a bit about the FTC and DOJ scuffle over Section 2 (See here and here). On Thursday, December 11th, the ABA Antitrust Division is sponsoring a Teleseminar that will feature my former FTC colleague Ken Glazer (Deputy Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission), Bill Kolasky (WilmerHale, and ... Inter-Agency Teleseminar Showdown
"This Liberal Will Be All About Socializing … Uhhh … Basically … Taking Over and the Government Running All of Your Companies"
That is from Maxine Waters (HT: Luke Froeb). It is increasingly difficult these days to figure out whether socialization/ nationalization is a threat or a promise. The clip is priceless. You can see her two colleagues getting a kick out of Waters’ rant (which starts about the 1:10 mark) in response to the assertion from ... "This Liberal Will Be All About Socializing … Uhhh … Basically … Taking Over and the Government Running All of Your Companies"
