Symposium

Last updated on Oct 31, 2020

The Law, Economics, and Policy of the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic and society’s response to it unfold, we are confronted in real time with some of the limits — and some of the wonders — of modern society. The host of restrictions imposed by governments on movement and social gathering in order to contain the virus, for example, are having significant adverse economic effects, and revealing previously unknown (or under-appreciated) fault lines in societies and economies around the globe. But at the same time we are also witnessing a remarkable wave of innovative, compassionate, and energetic responses in both the public and private sectors, demonstrating the fundamental resilience and dynamism of society.

Perhaps most obviously, the health crisis presented by COVID-19, as well as the policies implemented to address it, have highlighted the already central role of information, digital, telecommunications, platform, network, Internet, and related technologies in modern life. But with that heightened role come new challenges in terms of the regulation of technology and the governance (both public and private) of the businesses, people, capital, and intangible assets dedicated to those technologies and their ongoing innovation.

As public and private decision-makers continue to address these challenges — and many others brought on by the pandemic — it is important to understand what can and should be done by both public and private entities, as well as to take stock of what innovative ideas have been implemented and their consequences.

Truth on the Market and the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) are thus inaugurating an ongoing series — a scholarly symposium of indefinite duration and indeterminate scope — on the law, economics, and policy of the COVID-19 pandemic. The series will consider the opportunities for (and challenges to) technology and governance innovation in response to the pandemic, and the tradeoffs for each involved in the range of legal, economic, and policy responses that emerge.

We will continue to invite new participants and address new issues as the crisis unfolds. As we line up new participants and as their contributions are posted we will update this page; you will always be able to find the most recent post in the series at the top of the page here: https://laweconcenter.wpengine.com/category/covid-19-response-series/ (with previous posts in reverse chronological order below it).

Confirmed Participants

  • Ian Adams, Executive Director, ICLE
  • Dirk Auer, Senior Fellow of Law & Economics, ICLE
  • Jane Bambauer, Professor of Law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
  • Corbin Barthold, Senior Litigation Counsel, Washington Legal Foundation
  • Sam Bowman, Director of Competition Policy, ICLE
  • Tim Brennan, Professor, Economics & Public Policy, University of Maryland; former FCC; former FTC
  • Steve Cernak, Partner, Bona Law
  • Eline Chivot, Senior Policy Analyst, Center for Data Innovation, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
  • Miranda Perry Fleischer, Professor Law and Co-Director of Tax Programs, University of San Diego School of Law. 
  • Luke Froeb, William C. Oehmig Chair in Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University; former Chief Economist at the US DOJ Antitrust Division and US FTC
  • Eric Fruits, Chief Economist, ICLE; Adjunct Professor of Economics, Portland State University
  • Thomas Hazlett, H.H. Macaulay Endowed Professor of Economics, John E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson University
  • Justin “Gus” Hurwitz, Associate Professor of Law & Co-director, Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Program, University of Nebraska; Director of Law & Economics Programs, ICLE
  • Mark  Jamison, Director and Gunter Professor, Public Utility Research Center, University of Florida; Visiting Scholar with the American Enterprise Institute.
  • Robert Litan, Non-resident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution; former Associate Director, OMB
  • Dan Lyons, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School
  • Geoffrey A. Manne, President, ICLE; Distinguished Fellow, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics
  • Valentin Mircea, Senior Partner, Mircea & Partners Law Firm; Visiting Fellow, European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
  • Julian Morris, Director of Innovation Policy, ICLE
  • John Newman, Associate Professor, University of Miami School of Law; Advisory Board Member, American Antitrust Institute; Affiliated Fellow, Thurman Arnold Project, Yale; Former Trial Attorney, DOJ Antitrust Division.
  • Noah Phillips, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
  • Will Rinehart, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Growth and Opportunity
  • Daniel Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor & former Dean, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
  • Ramaz Samrout, Principal, REIM Strategies; Lay Member, Competition Tribunal of Canada
  • Hal Singer, Managing Director, econONE; Adjunct Professor, Georgeown University, McDonough School of Business
  • Brent Skorup, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University
  • Ben Sperry, Associate Director of Legal Research, ICLE
  • Kristian Stout, Associate Director, ICLE
  • Daniel Takash, Regulatory policy fellow at the Niskanen Center. He is the manager of Niskanen’s Captured Economy Project
  • David Thaw, Associate Research Professor of Law, Assistant Research Professor of Computing & Information, University of Pittsburgh; Faculty Director and Founder, CyREN Laboratory; Affiliated Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School
  • Charlotte Tschider, Visiting Professor, University of Nebraska College of Law
  • Christine Wilson, Comissioner, Federal Trade Commission
  • Ramsi Woodcock, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Kentucky; Assistant Professor of Management, Gatton College of Business and Economics
  • Matt Zwolinski, Professor of Philosophy, University of San Diego; founder and director, USD Center for Ethics, Economics, and Public Policy; founder and contributor, Bleeding Heart Libertarians Blog.

Series Posts (in order of posting)

 

In This Symposium

In This Symposium

Ongoing Blog Series: The Law, Economics, and Policy of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The following is the first in a new blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available at https://laweconcenter.wpengine.com/symposia/the-law-economics-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/.

What Has Big Tech Ever Done for Us? Part I

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Dirk Auer, (Senior Fellow of Law & Economics, International Center for Law & Economics).] Republican Senator Josh ... What Has Big Tech Ever Done for Us? Part I

Goodhart and Bad Policy

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Eric Fruits, (Chief Economist, International Center for Law & Economics).] Wells Fargo faces billions of dollars of ... Goodhart and Bad Policy

Putting COVID Emergency Response on War Footing

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Robert Litan, (Non-resident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution; former Associate Director, Office of Management and ... Putting COVID Emergency Response on War Footing

What Does “Flattening the Curve” Mean?

Policy makers are using the term to describe the effects of social distancing and travel restrictions.  In this post, we use a cellular automata model of infection to show how they might do this. DISCLAIMER:  THIS IS AN UNREALISTIC MODEL, FOR TEACHING PURPOSES ONLY. The images below are from a cellular automata model of the spread of a disease ... What Does “Flattening the Curve” Mean?

The Not Neutrality of Tech Reporting: Discussing the Economics of Lifting Data Caps During a Stay-at-home Crisis

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Justin “Gus” Hurwitz, (Associate Professor of Law & Co-director, Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Program, University of ... The Not Neutrality of Tech Reporting: Discussing the Economics of Lifting Data Caps During a Stay-at-home Crisis

How Will the Application of Antitrust Law Change During the Coronavirus Crisis?

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Steve Cernak, (Partner, Bona Law).] The antitrust laws have not been suspended during the current COVID-19 crisis. ... How Will the Application of Antitrust Law Change During the Coronavirus Crisis?

There is No Cure for Government Incompetence

The pandemic is serious. COVID-19 will overwhelm our hospitals. It might break our entire healthcare system. To keep the number of deaths in the low hundreds of thousands, a study from Imperial College London finds, we will have to shutter much of our economy for months. Small wonder the markets have lost a third of ... There is No Cure for Government Incompetence

Prices are Information, Even During a Crisis

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Ben Sperry, (Associate Director, Legal Research, International Center for Law & Economics).] The visceral reaction to the ... Prices are Information, Even During a Crisis

Subsidies to “Flatten the Curve”

Summary: Trying to quarantine everyone until a vaccine is available doesn’t seem feasible. In addition, restrictions mainly delay when the epidemic explodes, e.g., see previous post on Flattening the Curve. In this paper, we propose subsidies to both individuals and businesses, to better align private incentives with social goals, while leaving it up to individuals and ... Subsidies to “Flatten the Curve”

What Has Big Tech Ever Done for Us? Part Two

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Dirk Auer, (Senior Researcher, Liege Competition & Innovation Institute; Senior Fellow, ICLE).] Across the globe, millions of ... What Has Big Tech Ever Done for Us? Part Two

COVID-19, Ghost Flights, and Emerging Property Rights in Airport Slots

One of the most visible economic effects of the COVID-19 spread is the decrease in airline customers. Alec Stapp alerted me to the recent outrage over “ghost flights,” where airlines fly nearly empty planes to maintain their “slots.”  The airline industry is unfortunately in economic freefall as governments prohibit and travelers pull back on air ... COVID-19, Ghost Flights, and Emerging Property Rights in Airport Slots

Base Small Business Support on their Economic Realities

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Mark Jamison, (Director and Gunter Professor, Public Utility Research Center, University of Florida and Visiting Scholar with the American Enterprise ... Base Small Business Support on their Economic Realities

Income-contingent Loans as a COVID Policy Backstop

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Sam Bowman, (Director of Competition Policy, ICLE).] No support package for workers and businesses during the coronavirus shutdown can be ... Income-contingent Loans as a COVID Policy Backstop

How to Slow the Spread SARS-CoV2 and Reduce Mortality from COVID-19 Without Destroying the Economy

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Julian Morris, (Director of Innovation Policy, ICLE).] SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now widespread in the population in ... How to Slow the Spread SARS-CoV2 and Reduce Mortality from COVID-19 Without Destroying the Economy

Buyback Backlash: Is the Ban Non-binding?

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Eric Fruits, (Chief Economist, International Center for Law & Economics).] The Wall Street Journal reports congressional leaders have agreed to ... Buyback Backlash: Is the Ban Non-binding?

More Corona Testing Is Necessary, But Not Sufficient, To Get Us Back on Our Feet. Verification of Good Health Is Also Required

In these harrowing times, it is a natural to fixate on the problem of testing—and how the United States got so far behind South Korea on this front—as a means to arrest the spread of Coronavirus. Under this remedy, once testing becomes ubiquitous, the government could track and isolate everyone who has been in recent ... More Corona Testing Is Necessary, But Not Sufficient, To Get Us Back on Our Feet. Verification of Good Health Is Also Required

Towards an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Analogue For Allocation of Emergency Medical Resources

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Geoffrey A. Manne, (President, ICLE; Distinguished Fellow, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics).] There has been much (admittedly ... Towards an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Analogue For Allocation of Emergency Medical Resources

The Virulence of Free Trade

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Ramsi Woodcock, (Assistant Professor of Law, University of Kentucky; Assistant Professor of Management, Gatton College of Business ... The Virulence of Free Trade

The Pandemic Exception that Proves the Market Rule

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Tim Brennan, (Professor, Economics & Public Policy, University of Maryland; former FCC; former FTC).] Thinking about how to think about ... The Pandemic Exception that Proves the Market Rule

The Covidien/Newport Merger: Killer Acquisition or Just a Killer Story?

[TOTM: The following is part of a blog series by TOTM guests and authors on the law, economics, and policy of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The entire series of posts is available here. This post is authored by Geoffrey A. Manne, (President, ICLE; Distinguished Fellow, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business, and Economics); and Dirk Auer, (Senior Fellow ... The Covidien/Newport Merger: Killer Acquisition or Just a Killer Story?

IP Rights Are Important, Even in Pandemics

  The ongoing pandemic has been an opportunity to explore different aspects of the human condition. For myself, I have learned that, despite a deep commitment to philosophical (neo- or classical-) liberalism, at heart I am pragmatic. I would prefer a society that optimizes for more individual liberty, but I am emphatically not someone who ... IP Rights Are Important, Even in Pandemics

COVID-19 Exposes the Shallowness of Our Privacy Theories

The importance of testing and contact tracing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and resume normal life is now well established. The difference between the communities that do it and the ones that don’t is disturbingly grim (see, e.g., South Korea versus Italy). In a large population like the U.S., contact tracing and ... COVID-19 Exposes the Shallowness of Our Privacy Theories

Production and Free Trade in the Wake of Covid-19 – Setting New Trade Trends for Future Economies

At a time when nations are engaged in bidding wars in the worldwide market to alleviate the shortages of critical medical necessities for the Covid-19 crisis, it certainly bares the question, have free trade and competition policies resulting in efficient global integrated market networks gone too far? Did economists and policy makers advocating for efficient ... Production and Free Trade in the Wake of Covid-19 – Setting New Trade Trends for Future Economies

Policy Diversity Saves Lives: Unmasking Confirmation Bias Caused by a Virus

The brutal toll of the coronavirus pandemic has delivered dramatic public policies. The United States has closed institutions, banned crowds, postponed non-emergency medical procedures and instituted social distancing. All to “flatten the curve” of illness. The measures are expensive, but there is no obvious way to better save lives. There is evidence that, even without ... Policy Diversity Saves Lives: Unmasking Confirmation Bias Caused by a Virus

Flattening the Curve without Squashing Society: Market Responses to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way consumers shop and the way businesses sell. These shifts in behavior, designed to “flatten the curve” of infection through social distancing, are happening across many (if not all) markets. But in many cases, it’s impossible to know now whether these new habits are actually achieving the desired effect.  ... Flattening the Curve without Squashing Society: Market Responses to COVID-19

Privacy in the Time of Covid-19

I type these words while subject to a stay-at-home order issued by West Virginia Governor James C. Justice II. “To preserve public health and safety, and to ensure the healthcare system in West Virginia is capable of serving all citizens in need,” I am permitted to leave my home only for a limited and precisely ... Privacy in the Time of Covid-19

Cooperation, Competition, and COVID-19

  Cooperation is the basis of productivity. The war of all against all is not a good model for any economy. Who said it—a rose-emoji Twitter Marxist, or a card-carrying member of the laissez faire Chicago School of economics? If you guessed the latter, you’d be right. Frank Easterbrook penned these words in an antitrust ... Cooperation, Competition, and COVID-19

Coronavirus treatments and vaccines: Patents … or a Prize?

Observers on TOTM and elsewhere have pointed out the importance of preserving patent rights as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies pursue development of treatments for, and better vaccines against,  Covid-19. As the benefits of these treatments could reach into the trillions of dollars (see here for a casual estimate and here for a more serious one), ... Coronavirus treatments and vaccines: Patents … or a Prize?

The CARES Act and the Tantalizing Promise of a Universal Basic Income

This week, Americans began receiving cold, hard cash from the government. Meant to cushion the economic fallout of Covid-19, the CARES Act provides households with relief payments of up to $1200 per adult and $500 per child. As we have written elsewhere, direct cash transfers are the simplest, least paternalistic, and most efficient way to ... The CARES Act and the Tantalizing Promise of a Universal Basic Income

Paid to Stay Home? An Entirely Intended Consequence of the COVID-19 Stimulus

In an earlier TOTM post, we argued as the economy emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, perhaps the best policy would allow properly motivated firms and households to themselves balance the benefits, costs, and risks of transitioning to “business as usual.”  Sometimes, however, well meaning government policies disrupt the balance and realign motivations. Our post contrasted ... Paid to Stay Home? An Entirely Intended Consequence of the COVID-19 Stimulus

There Aren’t Luddites in a Quarantine

Nellie Bowles, a longtime critic of tech, recently had a change of heart about tech, which she relayed in the New York Times: Before the coronavirus, there was something I used to worry about. It was called screen time. Perhaps you remember it. I thought about it. I wrote about it. A lot. I would ... There Aren’t Luddites in a Quarantine

Let’s (NOT) Stop All the Mergers: The Case for Letting the Agencies Do Their Jobs

Never let a crisis go to waste, or so they say. In the past two weeks, some of the same people who sought to stop mergers and acquisitions during the bull market took the opportunity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new bear market to call to ban M&A. On Friday, April 24th, Rep. David ... Let’s (NOT) Stop All the Mergers: The Case for Letting the Agencies Do Their Jobs

Amazon is Not Welcome in France. And That Reflects French Double Standards

As the COVID-19 outbreak led to the shutdown of many stores, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops have been stepping up efforts to facilitate online deliveries while ensuring their workers’ safety. Without online retail, lockdown conditions would have been less tolerable, and confinement measures less sustainable. Yet a recent French court’s ruling on Amazon seems to be ... Amazon is Not Welcome in France. And That Reflects French Double Standards

The Negative Externalities of Protecting Privacy

The public policy community’s infatuation with digital privacy has grown by leaps and bounds since the enactment of GDPR and the CCPA, but COVID-19 may leave the most enduring mark on the actual direction that privacy policy takes. As the pandemic and associated lockdowns first began, there were interesting discussions cropping up about the inevitable ... The Negative Externalities of Protecting Privacy

Uber/Grubhub: Pandemic Profiteering, Merger Moratoriums, and Rising Concentration … Or Not

Earlier this week, merger talks between Uber and food delivery service Grubhub surfaced. House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline quickly reacted to the news: Americans are struggling to put food on the table, and locally owned businesses are doing everything possible to keep serving people in our communities, even under great duress. Uber is ... Uber/Grubhub: Pandemic Profiteering, Merger Moratoriums, and Rising Concentration … Or Not

Congress Considers Privacy in the Context of COVID-19 and Gets it All Wrong

The COVID-19 crisis has recast virtually every contemporary policy debate in the context of public health, and digital privacy is no exception. Conversations that once focused on the value and manner of tracking to enable behavioral advertising have shifted. Congress, on the heels of years of false-starts and failed efforts to introduce nationwide standards, is ... Congress Considers Privacy in the Context of COVID-19 and Gets it All Wrong

Rebuilding Trust in Coronaworld

Governments are beginning to lift the lockdowns they imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19. That is a good thing. But simply lifting the restrictions won’t immediately take us back to normality. For that to happen requires a massive investment in mechanisms that will rebuild trust. Prior to COVID-19, people implicitly trusted that travelling on ... Rebuilding Trust in Coronaworld

We Need to Talk About Privacy Absolutism

Privacy absolutism is the misguided belief that protecting citizens’ privacy supersedes all other policy goals, especially economic ones. This is a mistake. Privacy is one value among many, not an end in itself. Unfortunately, the absolutist worldview has filtered into policymaking and is beginning to have very real consequences. Readers need look no further than ... We Need to Talk About Privacy Absolutism

Would You Rather: Merger or Nationalization?

While much of the world of competition policy has focused on mergers in the COVID-19 era. Some observers see mergers as one way of saving distressed but valuable firms. Others have called for a merger moratorium out of fear that more mergers will lead to increased concentration and market power. In the meantime, there has ... Would You Rather: Merger or Nationalization?

Institutional weakness and the fight against Covid-19 in Peru

Peru’s response to the pandemic has been one of the most radical in Latin America: Restrictions were imposed sooner, lasted longer and were among the strictest in the region. Peru went into lockdown on March 15 after only 71 cases had been reported.  Along with the usual restrictions (temporary restaurant and school closures), the Peruvian ... Institutional weakness and the fight against Covid-19 in Peru

Commentary: In the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, how do we balance risk and safety?

(Ed. Note: the following is an excerpt from a piece published by the Chicago Tribune on Oct. 16, 2020. Click here to read the full piece) No matter your Twitter feed, “vaccines have been one of the greatest public health tools to prevent disease,” as The New York Times explained in January… Many are terrified ... Commentary: In the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, how do we balance risk and safety?

Understanding the European Commission’s dispute with AstraZeneca

In order to understand the lack of apparent basis for the European Commission’s claims that AstraZeneca is in breach of its contractual obligations to supply it with vaccine doses, it is necessary to understand the difference between stock and flow. If I have 1,000 widgets in my warehouse, and agree to sell 700 of them ... Understanding the European Commission’s dispute with AstraZeneca