The Archives

Everything written by Joshua D. Wright on law, economics, and more

Predicting a Few Champions Just for Fun …

Tyler picks the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA title this year. No time like the present to get on the record with a few of my own. 1. NFL: Bears v. Chargers in the Superbowl. I’m going to go out on a limb (and against Tradesports) and pick San Diego over the Colts ... Predicting a Few Champions Just for Fun …

FTC/DOJ Exclusive Dealing Testimony Preview

As promised, I am posting here my powerpoint slides for my testimony on exclusive dealing at the FTC/DOJ Section 2 Hearings, as well as the two papers upon which my analysis is based: Powerpoint slides: Wright Exclusive Dealing Testimony Benjamin Klein and Joshua D. Wright, The Economics of Slotting Contracts, forthcoming in JLE in 2007. ... FTC/DOJ Exclusive Dealing Testimony Preview

Medical Self-Defense, Organ Markets, and the Poor

Eugene Volokh has posted a series discussing his new article (forthcoming in Harvard L. Rev.) “Medical Self-Defense, Prohibited Experimental Therapies, and Payment for Organs,” which I point out because the article claims that bans on organ payments violate patients’ medical self-defense rights. As readers of TOTM know, organ markets are a topic of substantial interest ... Medical Self-Defense, Organ Markets, and the Poor

eSapience Center for Competition Policy Launches Website

The eSapience Center for Competition Policy (eCCP) has launched its website, and it looks like a very promising resource for competition policy lawyers and economists. The site includes access to eCCP’s Competition Policy International journal (which has already attracted articles from a number of top competition policy writers; here is the link to the latest ... eSapience Center for Competition Policy Launches Website

FTC/ DOJ Section 2 Hearings Continue

The FTC/ DOJ Section 2 Hearings (aka Hearings on Section 2 of the Sherman Act: Single Firm Conduct as Related to Competition) continued earlier this week with a session on tying Wednesday featuring David Evans, Robin Cooper Feldman, Mark Popofsky, Donald Russell, Michael Waldman, and Robert Willig. This link contains presentation materials and will eventually, ... FTC/ DOJ Section 2 Hearings Continue

Teaching Law Students Economics

Larry Ribstein has an interesting post responding to Professor Warren’s discussion of her own classroom experiences teaching Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585, 593-94 (1991). Professor Warren describes a discussion with her students involving the notion raised by Justice Blackmun that “passengers who purchase tickets containing a forum clause like that at ... Teaching Law Students Economics

The FTC's Noerr-Pennington Report

David Fischer (Antitrust Review) beat me to the punch announcing the FTC’s release of its staff report from the Bureau of Competition and Office of Policy & Planning on the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, which immunizes private actors urging government action from antitrust enforcement. The full text of the report is available here. This should prove to ... The FTC's Noerr-Pennington Report

Post-CELS Thoughts

I had a wonderful time at the First Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies. I presented this paper on the consumer welfare effects of shelf space contracts and commented on Keith Hylton and Fei Deng’s comprehensive empirical analysis of relationship between the scope of competition law (102 different countries) and the intensity of product market ... Post-CELS Thoughts

Isn't Competition Grand?: Wal-Mart, Drugs, and Antitrust

Fred Tung highlights Wal-Mart’s new strategy of selling a month’s supply of 300 different generics for $4, noting that Target will match Wal-Mart’s prices but Walgreens and CVS will not. Isn’t competition grand? Well, not everyone is convinced that low prices for consumers is a good thing. Unsurprisingly, for instance, this strategy has not gone ... Isn't Competition Grand?: Wal-Mart, Drugs, and Antitrust

Bainbridge Rebrands

Prof. Bainbridge has announced that it is time to shift from a general interest, punditry-style blog to a more narrow focus on issues of business law and economics: I plan to be more active over at Mirror of Justice, where I’ll blog about Catholic issues. And I may look around for a group blog to ... Bainbridge Rebrands

Google, Net Neutrality, and Antitrust

Hanno Kaiser at Antitrust Review discusses the implications of Google’s acquisition of YouTube for the net neutrality debate. Hanno opines that the deal may increase the likelihood of a neutrality result even without legislation. While Google’s public pro-neutrality stance is well known, GMU’s Tom Hazlett (my office neighbor and fellow UCLA Economics alum) has a ... Google, Net Neutrality, and Antitrust

I'm About to Get More Productive …

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 era has begun. Today, the first part of my online poker and football watching research and writing weekend was interrupted with this message on my computer screen: The President of the United States has signed legislation that now causes PartyGaming to have to cease taking wagers from ... I'm About to Get More Productive …