Showing results for: “loyalty discounts”
Has the Obama Administration Retreated From Behavioral Economics?
The WSJ implies that the answer is yes in an interesting article describing the Obama administration’s changing views on behavioral economics and regulation. The theme of the article is that the Obama administration has eschewed the “soft paternalism” based “nudge” approach endorsed by the behavioral economics crowd and that received so much attention in the ... Has the Obama Administration Retreated From Behavioral Economics?
The Commission Wins an Exclusive Dealing Case
Today, the Commission announced a consent decree with Transitions Optical in an exclusionary conduct case. Here’s the FTC description: Transitions Optical, Inc., the nation’s leading manufacturer of photochromic treatments that darken corrective lenses used in eyeglasses, has agreed to stop using allegedly anticompetitive practices to maintain its monopoly and increase prices, under a settlement with ... The Commission Wins an Exclusive Dealing Case
Do motives matter?
I have the pleasure of co-leading a seminar this quarter with distinguished philosopher Brian Leiter. The seminar, entitled “Capitalism: For and Against,” (take a guess which side I’m on), meets periodically at either my home or Brian’s. About 12 students join us to discuss a reading. So far, we’ve read “A Communist Manifesto,” (how could ... Do motives matter?
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)
Amazon vs. Macmillan: It's all about control
The Amazon vs. Macmillan controversy has been beaten to a pulp in the blogosphere. See Megan McArdle, John Scalzi, Joshua Gans, Virginia Postrel, Lynne Kiesling, Lynne Kielsing and Lynne Kiesling, among others. Pulp or no (get it? It’s a book/e-book pun), I haven’t seen anyone hit squarely on what I think is the crux of ... Amazon vs. Macmillan: It's all about control
Evading Section Two, Two Ways: The Commission's Cases Against McCormick and Intel
Yesterday, in my contribution to the Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog’s Section 5 symposium, I discussed the FTC’s use of Section 5 to evade the tough standards facing plaintiffs bringing Section 2 claims and how that evasion was likely to cost consumers by stripping out the error-cost protections embedded in modern monopolization law. I also ... Evading Section Two, Two Ways: The Commission's Cases Against McCormick and Intel
Zywicki on Interchange Fee Legislation
My colleague (and TOTM Credit Card Symposium participant — posts here and here) Todd Zywicki has an excellent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today on Congressional legislation aimed at regulating interchange fees. Here’s an excerpt detailing the predictable economic consequences of the legislation: What would happen if the Merchants Payments Coalition gets its way ... Zywicki on Interchange Fee Legislation
My Top Ten Antitrust Publications of the Year
Danny Sokol posted his blog’s list of top antitrust publications for the year. The big winners were Einer Elhauge, Bundled Discounts, and the Death of the Single Monopoly Profit Theory, 123 Harvard Law Review 397 (2009), and Nathan Miller, Strategic Leniency and Cartel Enforcement, American Economic Review. In the holiday rush, I forget to send ... My Top Ten Antitrust Publications of the Year
Daubert and Antitrust Economics, Or When Should An Antitrust Economist Have Training in Economics?
Judge Saris’s district court opinion denying the motion to exclude one of the plaintiff’s economic experts in Natchitoches Parish Hospital v. Tyco International recently came across my desk. It is an interesting case involving allegations that Covidien, a leading supplier of “sharps containers” used for the disposal of various needle-involving medical products (syringes, IVs, etc.) ... Daubert and Antitrust Economics, Or When Should An Antitrust Economist Have Training in Economics?
Features v. Bugs: Intel and the Relationship Between Sections 2 and 5
There will be much to say about the Federal Trade Commission’s Intel complaint in the coming months. And we’ve said quite a bit already. But having just read the complaint and the statements from Chairman Leibowitz and Commissioner Rosch discussing the various rationales for making Section 5 the primary hook for this case, I wanted ... Features v. Bugs: Intel and the Relationship Between Sections 2 and 5
The seeds of an antitrust disaster
If you live outside the farm belt (or you’re not an antitrust junkie) you might have missed what is shaping up to be one of the biggest antitrust stories of the coming year: The set of antitrust accusations and actions against Monsanto for its alleged anticompetitive conduct in the biotech seed market. The AP reports: ... The seeds of an antitrust disaster
Robert Rhee on Nationalization in a Time of Crisis
I have spent the better part of the year studying the consequences of government ownership in the private sector, see Treasury Inc.: How the Bailout Reshapes Corporate Theory and Practice. I recently had the opportunity to read a new paper from Robert Rhee that examines the issue from a different point of view, Nationalization of ... Robert Rhee on Nationalization in a Time of Crisis
