Common Errors on Exams
I’ve been grading Contracts exams for the last week or so. This is where I earn my pay. It’s an awful job. The students take only one exam for the entire semester, so I really have to be careful to make sure I’m evaluating everyone fairly. Painstakingly reading and effectively ranking 75 three-hour essay exams ... Common Errors on Exams
Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part III
President Barack Obama, June 1, 2009: What we are not doing, what I have no interest in doing, is running GM. GM will be run by a private board of directors and management team with a track record in American manufacturing that reflects a commitment to innovation and quality. They, and not the government, will ... Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part III
Regulating Local Food Out of the Market
The Nanny Brigade has once again descended on the Windy City. It previously sought to protect us from unhealthy trans fats, smoking in private establishments that we voluntarily patronize, and those oh-so-offensive theatrical depictions of smoking. The Nannies are now working to protect Chicago’s well-heeled from risks associated with the locally produced, artisanal sausages sold ... Regulating Local Food Out of the Market
Climate Change and the Non-Sensical Precautionary Principle
In his New York Times column, Thomas Friedman advocates “doing the Cheney-thing on climate — preparing for 1%.” He’s referring to Vice-President Cheney’s reported remark: “If there’s a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping Al Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our ... Climate Change and the Non-Sensical Precautionary Principle
Informational Cascades, Reputational Cascades, Group Polarization, and the Climate Emails
It’s been interesting to observe the responses to the hacked emails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. The emails seem to show leading global warming scientists massaging data to generate the result they prefer (i.e., “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series ... Informational Cascades, Reputational Cascades, Group Polarization, and the Climate Emails
A Decision-Theoretic Rule of Reason for Minimum Resale Price Maintenance
My latest working paper, which bears the same title as this post, is now available on SSRN. In the paper, I address the challenge created by the Supreme Court’s 2007 Leegin decision, which abrogated the 96 year-old rule declaring resale price maintenance (RPM) to be per se illegal. The Leegin Court held that instances of ... A Decision-Theoretic Rule of Reason for Minimum Resale Price Maintenance
PeaceHealth and De Facto Exclusive Dealing, Part III
Josh’s thoughtful response (Bitchslap? Nah.) to my post criticizing the Ninth Circuit’s recent Masimo decision raises a number of important matters. I started to just submit a comment to Josh’s post, but then I figured a reply was post-worthy. (I don’t want the antitrust nerds who read these technical posts — and here’s to you, ... PeaceHealth and De Facto Exclusive Dealing, Part III
Hayek and the Fall of the Wall
As we reflect back on the remarkable events of twenty years ago, and as we witness more and more centralized economic planning in our own society, we should pause to remember what the fall of the wall revealed. Consider Alan Greenspan’s account (The Age of Turbulence, pp. 131-32): Controlled experiments almost never happen in economics. ... Hayek and the Fall of the Wall
PeaceHealth Should Apply Even When a Bundled Discount Results in "De Facto" Exclusive Dealing
The Ninth Circuit, whose PeaceHealth decision moved the law on bundled discounting in the right direction, recently issued another decision on bundled discounts. That decision, Masimo Corp. v. Tyco Health Care Group, L.P., threatens to limit PeaceHealth‘s effectiveness. Medical device manufacturer Masimo sued Tyco for monopolizing the market for pulse oximetry devices. A monopolization action ... PeaceHealth Should Apply Even When a Bundled Discount Results in "De Facto" Exclusive Dealing
Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part II
President Barack Obama, June 1, 2009: What we are not doing, what I have no interest in doing, is running GM. GM will be run by a private board of directors and management team with a track record in American manufacturing that reflects a commitment to innovation and quality. They, and not the government, will ... Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part II
The War Against Affordable Books
Last week Josh discussed the American Booksellers’ Association’s effort to get the Justice Department to pursue antitrust charges against Walmart, Target, and Amazon for engaging in a vigorous, consumer-benefiting price war. In today’s Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby has a nice piece highlighting a bit more of the Association’s tortured logic. (HT: Don Boudreaux.) Apparently, these ... The War Against Affordable Books
"Standardizing" the Horizontal Merger Guidelines
I’m confident that my esteemed colleagues, who have far more expertise about the merger guidelines than I, will offer all sorts of terrific ideas for revising the substance of the guidelines. While I would certainly advocate a few specific changes (i.e., revise the HHI thresholds to reflect actual agency practice), I’ll leave the devilish details ... "Standardizing" the Horizontal Merger Guidelines
