The Archives

Everything written by Michael E. Sykuta on law, economics, and more

Heritage Of A Taco

Thanks to Peter Klein over at O&M for bringing attention to this image created by a group of California design students showing the network of suppliers necessary to produce the taco enjoyed at their favorite local taco truck. While the purpose of their picture is to illustrate the ecological footprint (“tacoshed”) of their favorite tacos, ... Heritage Of A Taco

The Environmental Responsibility of Business? Make Profit!

That’s the punchline of a recent paper by Pierre Desrochers (U Toronto). Pierre has written some interesting papers on a range of topics related to economic development, technological innovation, and the intersection of business and the environment.   He argues that it is governmental (regulatory) failures that distort the environmental consequences of corporate behavior, not ... The Environmental Responsibility of Business? Make Profit!

Competition in Agriculture (cross-posted)

Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog is hosting a symposium on Competition in Agriculture. So far today, there are posts by Ron Cass (BU Law), Jeff Harrison (U of Florida Law), and me.  Additional posts should be forthcoming from Christina Bohannan (U. Iowa Law), Scott Kieff (GW Law), Andrew Novakovic (Cornell Applied Economics), George Priest (Yale ... Competition in Agriculture (cross-posted)

The NFL As A Single Firm?

When I first read Josh’s post of antitrust links below, I thought “Drew Brees? Surely not THAT Drew Brees.”  Turns out, it IS that Drew Brees. I was very interested to read the QB’s take on American Needle and his plead for the Supreme Court to reject the NFL’s petition to be deemed “a single ... The NFL As A Single Firm?

Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings

A couple weeks ago, Geoff wrote concerning the DOJ’s misguided antitrust interest in Monsanto. With that in mind, I was very interested to see today’s announcement that Monsanto’s earnings and gross margins are significantly off for its fiscal first quarter.  According to the Wall Street Journal report, Monsanto posted a loss for the quarter due ... Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings

Another Mis-step in Reactionary Regulation

Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Senators Cantwell and McCain are preparing legislation to reinstate Glass-Steagall-type restrictions to create a “firewall” between commercial and investment banks. Apparently Rep. Hinchey is preparing a similar assault in the House. The purpose behind the proposal, according to Ms. Cantwell, is so that “banks will stop diverting resources to ... Another Mis-step in Reactionary Regulation

EPA's Legislative End-run Strategy

Apparently the Obama administration is not very confident about getting its environmental climate change agenda passed through Congress. Given a legislative “solution” is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future, perhaps it is not surprising that today the EPA announced it’s ruling that greenhouse gases are “a danger to public health and welfare“. ... EPA's Legislative End-run Strategy

DOJ Disconnect: Do we really need a roadshow?

And now for something completely different. Being the only non-lawyer economist in the group seems to warrant such a preface sometimes. Earlier this semester I received a call from a reporter for a nearby small-town newspaper. The DOJ had just announced its intent to hold a series of workshops jointly with the USDA to “explore ... DOJ Disconnect: Do we really need a roadshow?

Of Broken Windows and Broken Policy

Today the Obama administration announced with great pride that its economic stimulus plan created or saved about 650,000 jobs.  “Thank goodness!” reads the subtext.  If not for all those new and protected jobs, the unemployment numbers would be really bad! It appears no one in the administration’s economic advisory team has heard of Frédéric Bastiat.  ... Of Broken Windows and Broken Policy