Showing archive for: “Agriculture & Biotech”
Economics versus politics in antitrust [#agworkshop]
Bill Northey, IA Ag Sec’y, sounds a bit like an economist (ah, turns out he has a degree in ag business and an MBA . . . ). Yes, price of seeds has gone up, but so has yield, and so has overall value. The issue, he says, is how to divide the surplus, and ... Economics versus politics in antitrust [#agworkshop]
Some political theater [#agworkshop]
As readers may know, Eric Holder was added to the workshop at the last minute (see the latest agenda here). So the day starts out with Holder and Vilsack, and they are joined by Varney and Tom Miller (the Iowa AG) and a host of other politicos including Senator Grassley and Congressman Boswell. Vilsack is ... Some political theater [#agworkshop]
The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
As Geoff noted, we’re stationed at the DOJ/USDA workshop to witness the goings on and provide some comments. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack opened this session with a laundry list of statistics concerning rural America and the agriculture sector. The statistics focused on national concentration ratios and national averages, which are tremendously deceiving for ... The Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
Sykuta and Manne: Covering the Agricultural Antitrust Workshop in Iowa [#agworkshop]
UPDATE: Trying to find the right hash tag for the event, I’ve changed the title of this post and we’ll follow the convention for our live blogging today–posts from the Workshop will all have “#agworkshop” in the title. Later this week Mike Sykuta and I will be winging our way to Iowa on behalf of ... Sykuta and Manne: Covering the Agricultural Antitrust Workshop in Iowa [#agworkshop]
Competition in agriculture redux (cross-posted)
Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog is hosting a symposium on Competition in Agriculture. Mike’s post from yesterday is available here. So far in the symposium there are also posts by Ron Cass (BU Law), Jeff Harrison (Florida Law), Peter Carstensen (Wisconsin Law), and Kyle Stiegert (Wisconsin Applied Econ). Additional posts should be forthcoming from ... Competition in agriculture redux (cross-posted)
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)
Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings
A couple weeks ago, Geoff wrote concerning the DOJ’s misguided antitrust interest in Monsanto. With that in mind, I was very interested to see today’s announcement that Monsanto’s earnings and gross margins are significantly off for its fiscal first quarter. According to the Wall Street Journal report, Monsanto posted a loss for the quarter due ... Yet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings
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
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
DOJ Disconnect: Do we really need a roadshow?
And now for something completely different. Being the only non-lawyer economist in the group seems to warrant such a preface sometimes. Earlier this semester I received a call from a reporter for a nearby small-town newspaper. The DOJ had just announced its intent to hold a series of workshops jointly with the USDA to “explore ... DOJ Disconnect: Do we really need a roadshow?
Professor Carrier’s Response
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Josh Wright. Only because of Josh’s creativity and tireless, flawless execution did this blog symposium come about and run so smoothly. I also would like to thank Dennis Crouch, who has generously cross-posted the symposium at PatentlyO. And I am grateful for the ... Professor Carrier’s Response
Kieff on Carrier’s Innovation in the 21st Century
I, too, join the rest of the participants in congratulating Michael Carrier on this great book about this great topic. I have enjoyed reading Michael’s work in the past and I enjoyed meeting him at a conference last year. He is a wonderfully warm, bright, and engaging person. Although I wish that I had more ... Kieff on Carrier’s Innovation in the 21st Century
