Showing results for: “digital markets act”
Seven Truths About Regulating Interchange
Interchange fees on payment cards are obviously a hot topic in the United States, but also in Europe and in many other countries around the world. The report on interchange fees released last month by the US Government Accounting Office (GAO) notes that more than 30 countries have intervened or are considering intervening in the ... Seven Truths About Regulating Interchange
Moving the Ball Forward: Macroeconomic Considerations
What is most surprising about the GAO report is how little the analytical discussion of this subject has advanced in the last decade. We all know that interchange rates might contribute to higher retail prices: customers that use cheaper payment products can be said to “subsidize” customers that use credit cards. Starting with the Australian ... Moving the Ball Forward: Macroeconomic Considerations
Why Now? The Faulty Economics of Credit Card Reform
About four years ago, I worked for Visa in opposing the opposed limitations on interchange fees that the Australian government was about to impose on the credit card industry. The situation there, like the situation in the United States, seemed hardly propitious for reform. The use of credit cards was rapidly expanding, and the rate ... Why Now? The Faulty Economics of Credit Card Reform
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
The Incorporation Transparency Act
This post is based on a legal backgrounder I recently published with the Washington Legal Foundation, which is available here. This analysis is cross-posted from the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. The Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, introduced by Senators Levin, Grassley, and McCaskill and currently pending before the ... The Incorporation Transparency Act
A Sarbox Update
From Larry Ribstein: A few years later, Henry Butler and I wrote a book decrying SOX, and discussing the evidence that was accumulating against it, as well as the SOX suit. Here’s an excerpt from the book abstract: If the suit is successful, Congress likely will have an opportunity to repair the constitutional defect. Although ... A Sarbox Update
Is Google or the government the problem?
Well, you probably know my answer to that one. I was interested to read Fred von Lohmann’s short take on the privacy aspects of the Google Books Settlement, available here. Fred and the EFF have, basically, two concerns. The first is that [t]he products and services envisioned by the proposed settlement will give Google not ... Is Google or the government the problem?
Underappreciated Economists: UCLA Edition
I’m late to the “name your favorite underappeciated economist game” that was kicked off in light of John Cassidy’s Pigou column. The Marginal Revolution crew points to Malthus and Fisher (Cowen and Tabarrok, respectively). My first instinct is to go with Armen Alchian. Though Armen has always been much appreciated on this blog. So I’m ... Underappreciated Economists: UCLA Edition
Institute for Humane Studies Fellowships
Details here: Deadline: December 31Scholarships up to $12,000 for undergraduate or graduate study in the United States or abroad. Humane Studies Fellowships are awarded by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) to students interested in exploring the principles, practices, and institutions necessary for a free society through their academic work. IHS began the program in ... Institute for Humane Studies Fellowships
The Federal Reserve Under Attack
The WSJ describes how Chairman Bernanke is going on the offensive in advance of his confirmation hearings, using them as an opportunity to oppose those elements of the Dodd Bill that would strip the Fed of some of its powers. However you feel about the policy debate, you’ve got to give him some credit for ... The Federal Reserve Under Attack
ELS, CELS and Bubbles in Legal Scholarship
Some interesting thoughts from David Zaring and Larry Ribstein on the future of the empirical legal studies movement and its flagship conference, CELS. Zaring asks whether there is enough glue holding the various constituencies within the ELS movement together. Ribstein warns of an empirical bubble and argues that the real need for an umbrella organization ... ELS, CELS and Bubbles in Legal Scholarship
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
