In Defense of Delaware’s Business Judgment Rule
In a recent Dealbook post, Steven M. Davidoff complains that Delaware’s business judgment rule is too lenient. Davidoff contends that “[a] Delaware court is not going to find [directors] liable no matter how stupid their decisions are. Instead, a Delaware court will find them liable only if they intentionally acted wrongfully or were so oblivious ... In Defense of Delaware’s Business Judgment Rule
Ninth Circuit Moves Tying Doctrine in the Right Direction. Will SCOTUS Follow?
The Ninth Circuit recently issued a decision that pushes the doctrine governing tying in the right direction. If appealed, the decision could provide the Roberts Court with an opportunity to do for tying what its Leegin decision did for resale price maintenance: reduce error costs by bringing an overly prohibitory liability rule in line with economic learning. First, some ... Ninth Circuit Moves Tying Doctrine in the Right Direction. Will SCOTUS Follow?
Sprint’s (Ironic?) Campaign for Competition
Sprint, perhaps the most vigorous opponent of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, has been extolling the values of competition lately. Last Thursday and again today, the company ran full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal featuring the following text (which was apparently penned by Helen Steiner Rice): Competition is everything. Competition is the steady hand at our back, pushing ... Sprint’s (Ironic?) Campaign for Competition
P.J. Hill — Teacher, Scholar, Mentor
My first economics professor, P.J. Hill, is retiring tomorrow after forty or so years of teaching at Wheaton College. I wanted to take a few minutes to publicly thank him for all he did for me and for the thousands of other students who had the great fortune to sit at his feet in Wheaton’s Blanchard Hall. I ... P.J. Hill — Teacher, Scholar, Mentor
Keynes vs. Hayek, Round II
Another of Russ Roberts’ and John Papola’s brilliant “Keynes vs. Hayek” rap videos is now online. (If you missed the first one, it’s here.) Whereas the first video focused largely on monetary policy, this one looks mainly at fiscal policy. Both are truly masterful. I’m amazed that Roberts and Papola were able to incorporate so much of the substance ... Keynes vs. Hayek, Round II
Penn Law’s Wolff on Labor Issues and the Gay Community
University of Pennsylvania law professor Tobias Wolff says that if you’re gay, you should support expansive collective bargaining rights for labor unions. Writing at the Huffington Post, he recently identified the promotion of labor unions as “one of the most important priorities for our community at this moment,” and he urged gay people “to contribute ... Penn Law’s Wolff on Labor Issues and the Gay Community
Get Ready for that Twinkie Tax.
Arizona’s governor has proposed charging $50 to certain Medicaid beneficiaries who smoke or are obese. As today’s Wall Street Journal reports, the point of the surcharge is to internalize the externalities smokers and snackers impose on their fellow citizens, who bear much of the cost of their unhealthful choices: “If you want to smoke, go for it,” said Monica Coury, spokeswoman for Arizona’s Medicaid ... Get Ready for that Twinkie Tax.
The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
I’ve been in a blue funk since last Tuesday, when my home institution, the University of Missouri Law School, fell into the third tier in the U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of law schools. Since the rankings began, Missouri has pretty consistently ranked in the 50s and 60s. Last year, we fell to ... The Antitrust (and Business) Risk of a Concerted Response to the U.S. News Rankings
March 15: Kick-Off for The Law School Hiring Cartel
If you’re currently a law professor and you’re thinking you might want to change schools (because, for example, your school continued its precipitous slide in the law school rankings . . . more about that later), you’d better hop on the phone. Today is your last day to snag a visiting offer from another law ... March 15: Kick-Off for The Law School Hiring Cartel
Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
In recent years, antitrust scholars have largely agreed on a couple of propositions involving tying and bundled discounting. With respect to tying (selling one’s monopoly “tying” product only on the condition that buyers also purchase another “tied” product), scholars from both the Chicago and Harvard Schools of antitrust analysis have generally concluded that there should ... Appropriate Liability Rules for Tying and Bundled Discounting: A Response to Professor Elhauge
The Breathtaking Ruthlessness of the Proposed Budget Cuts
The New York Times is appalled at House Republicans’ plans to “eviscerate nondefense spending,” calling the vote in favor of the cuts an act of “breathtaking ruthlessness.” The budget cuts, the Times says, will “carve $61 billion out of the government for just the next seven months, which would throw hundreds of thousands of people ... The Breathtaking Ruthlessness of the Proposed Budget Cuts
Epstein on Obama at U of C
It’s pretty hard to cycle through the University of Chicago Law School (or at least it used to be back when I was a student) without gaining an appreciation for the extent to which markets, while subject to occasional failures, enhance human welfare by channeling resources to their highest and best ends. It’s also hard ... Epstein on Obama at U of C
