Competition for the Field, Sirius/XM and Shelf Space
Geoff and Paul like the result in XM/ Sirius but are puzzled by the DOJ press release, in particular as it pertains to analyzing ex ante competition, or “competition for the field,” in the form of payments to automobile manufacturers to adopt their services. Geoff thinks the DOJ’s press release contains some funny language appearing ... Competition for the Field, Sirius/XM and Shelf Space
Do Casinos Cause Crime?
Grinols and Mustard (2006) answer “Yes” in their ReStat article. Douglas Walker rebuts and Grinols and Mustard reply in the latest issue of Econ Journal Watch — which you should be reading. The debate largely involves issues of measurement error and endogeneity, e.g. accounting for the possibility that crime cause casinos, and is accessible to ... Do Casinos Cause Crime?
Are the Roberts Court Antitrust Decisions Really Pro-Business?
I’m a bit late to the party on Jeffrey Rosen’s provocative article in the NY Times Magazine claiming that the Supreme Court is biased in favor of businesses. For readers not familiar with Rosen’s claim, the basic assertion is that: With their pro-business jurisprudence, the justices may be capturing an emerging spirit of agreement among ... Are the Roberts Court Antitrust Decisions Really Pro-Business?
Public Choice and the Law Textbook
Todd Zywicki and Maxwell Stearns have a draft of their new textbook, “Public Choice Concepts and Applications in the Law,” available for review for profs that are interested in teaching with the manuscript this Fall 2008 or Spring 2009 term (the book is due to be published in 2009). The book is designed for law ... Public Choice and the Law Textbook
Some Antitrust Links
The new Global Competition Policy online magazine contains some insightful commentary on the Google/ Doubleclick clearance, critical loss analysis in Whole Foods (from Kevin Murphy and Robert Topel) and more generally (from Greg Werden), as well as competing reactions to the Intel antitrust allegations … The Supreme Court did not grant cert in Microsoft v. ... Some Antitrust Links
EU Clears Google-Doubleclick
From the WSJ Online: The transaction had faced stiff opposition in Brussels from Google rivals including Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., as well as privacy advocates who fretted that a combined company would control a vast storehouse of data on Web users and their surfing habits. But European Commission antitrust officials early on ruled out ... EU Clears Google-Doubleclick
The Economics of $4300
Tyler Cowen invokes Klein and Leffler (1981) to explain the the apparently high price of paid by Client #9 for sex, arguing that high price in combination with the repeat purchase mechanism were part of a self-enforcement mechanism designed to assure performance (in this case, presumably, sex and secrecy). That the $4,300 represents a substantial ... The Economics of $4300
Steven Cheung's Blog
Of potential interest to TOTM readers (especially those who can read Chinese), Stephen Cheung has a blog. (HT: Peter Klein)
#31
That is where TOTM lands on Race to the Bottom’s list of the Top 50 Most Influential Law Faculty Blogs for 2007 based upon traffic, links, and citations. UPDATE: Or #68 amongst economics blogs…
Thoughts on Safe Harbors for Quantity Discounts (and Bundling)
Dennis Carlton and Michael Waldman have posted an insightful DOJ working paper on antitrust safe harbors for unilateral conduct involving quantity discounts and bundling. The discussion is very timely in light of the Microsoft CFI decision, AMC Report, Section 2 Hearings, and various monopolization cases in the United States, EU, and other antitrust jurisdictions. The Carlton & Waldman ... Thoughts on Safe Harbors for Quantity Discounts (and Bundling)
Barnett on the the Supreme Court, Convergence, and Enforcement Levels
Tom Barnett (DOJ Antitrust AG) gave a speech February 29th to the Federalist Society where he touched upon a number of interesting issues we’ve discussed from time to time here at TOTM. Some highlights: Barnett on recent Supreme Court activity. “I submit that the principal reason for the abundance of supermajority decisions is an analytical ... Barnett on the the Supreme Court, Convergence, and Enforcement Levels
Is Austan Goolsbee Overrated?
Not as an economist of course! There is no doubt that Goolsbee is one of the world’s premier economists. But another brilliant economist, Jagdish Bhagwati, argues that voters should (HT: Mankiw) favor Barack Obama’s free trade credentials over Hillary Clinton’s based, at least partially, on Austan Goolsbee’s credentials as an advocate of free trade and ... Is Austan Goolsbee Overrated?
