Showing archive for: “Barriers to Entry”
Global Antitrust Institute Points the Way Toward Sounder Japanese Antitrust Guidelines
The indefatigable (and highly talented) scriveners at the Scalia Law School’s Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) once again have offered a trenchant law and economics assessment that, if followed, would greatly improve a foreign jurisdiction’s competition law guidance. This latest assessment, which is compelling and highly persuasive, is embodied in a May 4 GAI Commentary on ... Global Antitrust Institute Points the Way Toward Sounder Japanese Antitrust Guidelines
Ag-biotech merger symposium wrap-up
On Thursday, March 30, Friday March 31, and Monday April 3, Truth on the Market and the International Center for Law and Economics presented a blog symposium — Agricultural and Biotech Mergers: Implications for Antitrust Law and Economics in Innovative Industries — discussing three proposed agricultural/biotech industry mergers awaiting judgment by antitrust authorities around the globe. These proposed ... Ag-biotech merger symposium wrap-up
Contestability theory in the real world
Though concentration seems to be an increasingly popular metric for discussing antitrust policy (a backward move in my opinion, given the theoretical work by Harold Demsetz and others many years ago in this area), contestability is still the standard for evaluating antitrust issues from an economic standpoint. Contestability theory, most closely associated with William Baumol, ... Contestability theory in the real world
Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation
On February 28, the Heritage Foundation issued a volume of essays by leading scholars on the law and economics of financial services regulatory reform entitled Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation. This Report, which is well worth a read (in particular, by incoming Trump Administration officials and Members of Congress), is available online. The Report’s 23 ... Unleashing Prosperity through Smarter Financial Regulation
Reflections on the International Competition Network (ICN) at 15: Steady Progress and Major Long-Term Challenges
Introduction In my role as a “non-governmental advisor” (NGA), I was privileged to attend and participate actively in the 15th Annual ICN Conference, held in Singapore from April 26-29. (I have blogged previously on ICN annual conferences and policy initiatives, see here, here, and here.) As a virtual network of national competition law agencies (“national ... Reflections on the International Competition Network (ICN) at 15: Steady Progress and Major Long-Term Challenges
O competition, we stand on guard for thee
Today’s Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB) Google decision marks yet another regulator joining the chorus of competition agencies around the world that have already dismissed similar complaints relating to Google’s Search or Android businesses (including the US FTC, the Korea FTC, the Taiwan FTC, and AG offices in Texas and Ohio). A number of courts around ... O competition, we stand on guard for thee
Jacobson on the Apple ebooks case: It is hard to find an easier antitrust case than United States v. Apple
Try as one may, it is hard to find an easier antitrust case than United States v. Apple. Consider: The six leading publishers all wanted to prevent Amazon and others from offering best seller e-books at $9.99 (or other similar low prices). The problem, however, was that they had no mechanism for accomplishing that result. Then ... Jacobson on the Apple ebooks case: It is hard to find an easier antitrust case than United States v. Apple
The competitive implications of the Affordable Care Act for health insurance merger review
Last week concluded round 3 of Congressional hearings on mergers in the healthcare provider and health insurance markets. Much like the previous rounds, the hearing saw predictable representatives, of predictable constituencies, saying predictable things. The pattern is pretty clear: The American Hospital Association (AHA) makes the case that mergers in the provider market are good ... The competitive implications of the Affordable Care Act for health insurance merger review
A Vision of a Class-Free Society – California Suit Against Uber Makes Little Sense
Uber is currently facing a set of plaintiffs who are seeking class certification in the Northern District of California (O’Connor, et. al v. Uber, #CV 13-3826-EMC) on two distinct grounds. First, the plaintiffs allege that Uber systematically deprived them of tips from riders by virtue of how the service is presented to end-users and how ... A Vision of a Class-Free Society – California Suit Against Uber Makes Little Sense
The Second Circuit Misapplies the Per Se Rule in U.S. v. Apple
In its June 30 decision in United States v. Apple Inc., a three-judge Second Circuit panel departed from sound antitrust reasoning in holding that Apple’s e-book distribution agreement with various publishers was illegal per se. Judge Dennis Jacobs’ thoughtful dissent, which substantially informs the following discussion of this case, is worth a close read. In ... The Second Circuit Misapplies the Per Se Rule in U.S. v. Apple
New Paper: The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework
The CPI Antitrust Chronicle published Geoffrey Manne’s and my recent paper, The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework as part of a symposium on Big Data in the May 2015 issue. All of the papers are worth reading and pondering, but of course ours is the best ;). In it, ... New Paper: The Problems and Perils of Bootstrapping Privacy and Data into an Antitrust Framework
International Competition Network (ICN) 2015 Annual Conference: A Higher Profile for Competition Advocacy
The ICN’s 14 Annual Conference, held in Sydney, Australia, from April 28th through May 1st, as usual, provided a forum for highlighting the work of ICN working groups on cartels, mergers, unilateral conduct, agency effectiveness, and advocacy. The Conference approved multiple working group products, including a guidance document on investigative process that reflects key investigative ... International Competition Network (ICN) 2015 Annual Conference: A Higher Profile for Competition Advocacy
