Antitrust in Tech Industries
Two stories about Google indicate the dangers of antitrust in fast moving tech industries. Microsoft is urging the EU antitrust authorities to sue Google. (Microsoft was itself the victim of a massive antitrust action. I guess it is true that abusers are likely to have been themselves abused.) At the same time Google is ... Antitrust in Tech Industries
New York Malpractice Reform
The state of New York is considering a cap on noneconomic damages (“pain and suffering”) for malpractice in order to save money. The New York Times story asks “… who benefits from caps — doctors or insurers — and whether the measures inflict unintended negative consequences upon victims of medical errors, including plaintiffs’ inability to ... New York Malpractice Reform
Google Book Project
Google’s efforts to make out of print books available online has run into a major stumbling block. Judge Chin ordered that books can only be digitized by Google if the author opts in; the agreement which he through out called for opt out. This is an shame and a highly inefficient result. As reported, the ... Google Book Project
Markets are incremental; Obamacare is not
Watching Obamacare dissolve in a morass of legal challenges and waivers points out another benefit of markets. Markets proceed incrementally. The Internet has made a huge difference in all of our lives. But the process was gradual. It began with just a few academic users and then expanded as entrepreneurs figured out next steps. In 1990 no one ... Markets are incremental; Obamacare is not
Proposed Privacy Legislation
The Obama Administration is advocating a privacy bill. One provision will limit the use of data to the purpose for which it was collected unless a consumer gives permission for additional uses; another will give consumers increased rights to access information about themselves. Both of these provisions may actually reduce safety of data online. One additional purpose for which ... Proposed Privacy Legislation
Privacy Cost-Benefit Analysis
As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a strong effort to regulate the use of information on the web in the name of “privacy.” The basic tradeoff that drives the web is that firms use information for advertising and other purposes,and in return consumers get lots of things free. Google alone offers about 40 free services, including the original ... Privacy Cost-Benefit Analysis
Privacy and Tracking
First I would like to thank Geoff Manne for inviting me to join this blog. I know most of my fellow bloggers and it is a group I am proud to be associated with. For my first few posts I am going to write about privacy. This is a hot topic. Senators McCain and Kerry ... Privacy and Tracking
Jack Calfee, In Memoriam, by Paul Rubin
My good friend and coauthor John E. (Jack) Calfee died suddenly of a heart attack last month. He was bon in 1941 and was 69 years old. Jack came late to economics. After graduating from Rice with a major in mathematics, he studied international relations at the University of Chicago and then worked for AT&T ... Jack Calfee, In Memoriam, by Paul Rubin
