Showing archive for: “Economics”
Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
One of the things that I hope to spend more time doing now that I have returned to the blogosphere is open-source article writing. By that I mean blogging about an article idea and updating it as I progress. Some say it’s a bad plan…people might steal your ideas, or maybe you expose yourself to ... Efficiency, Competition, Capital Formation, Investor Protection, Apple Pie and Puppies
Overcriminalization in action: the FCPA
I have written about the problems of criminalizing corporate agency costs and the intersection between these agency costs and the agency costs of the government agents who prosecute the crimes. Joe Yockey, in his recent paper Solicitation, Extortion, and the FCPA, shows that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions provide a particularly acute illustration of these ... Overcriminalization in action: the FCPA
Cost-Benefit Analysis at the SEC
Despite the SEC’s groundbreaking defeat at the DC Circuit over the proxy access rules, on the grounds that it failed to adequately weigh the costs and benefits of the rule proposal, the SEC Chairman has decided that the Commission will not conduct a full cost-benefit analysis of rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. In a ... Cost-Benefit Analysis at the SEC
Cooper and Kovacic on Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Agencies
There is an embarrassing blind spot in the behavioral law and economics literature with respect to implementation of policy whether via legislation or administrative agency. James Cooper and William Kovacic — both currently at the Federal Trade Commission as Attorney Advisor Commissioner, respectively — aim to fill this gap with a recent working paper entitled ... Cooper and Kovacic on Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Agencies
FairSearch’s Non-Sequitur Response
Our search neutrality paper has received some recent attention. While the initial response from Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal was favorable, critics are now voicing their responses. Although we appreciate FairSearch’s attempt to engage with our paper’s central claims, its response is really little more than an extended non-sequitur and fails to contribute ... FairSearch’s Non-Sequitur Response
Searching for Antitrust Remedies, Part II
In the last post, I discussed possible characterizations of Google’s conduct for purposes of antitrust analysis. A firm grasp of the economic implications of the different conceptualizations of Google’s conduct is a necessary – but not sufficient – precondition for appreciating the inconsistencies underlying the proposed remedies for Google’s alleged competitive harms. In this post, ... Searching for Antitrust Remedies, Part II
Morgenson’s DPA scandal
It’s not easy coming up with scandals all the time. Some days there just isn’t a new scandal to report. But that space has to get filled somehow. The NYT’s Gretchen Morgenson often finds herself in this position. Her scandal for yesterday, reported as usual with Louise Story (I’ll just start calling them Morgenstory), was about ... Morgenson’s DPA scandal
Wolfers on Happiness and Economic Growth
Others have linked to this, but its really a fantastic video of a discussion between Justin Wolfers and Robert Frank discussing happiness and economic growth.
Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate, Part II
I did not intend for this to become a series (Part I), but I underestimated the supply of analysis simultaneously invoking “search bias” as an antitrust concept while waving it about untethered from antitrust’s institutional commitment to protecting consumer welfare. Harvard Business School Professor Ben Edelman offers the latest iteration in this genre. We’ve criticized ... Sacrificing Consumer Welfare in the Search Bias Debate, Part II
Ralph Nader, investor
So how is Ralph Nader, the former scourge of GM and all things corporate, doing with his retirement fund? The WSJ takes a peak: In 2000, his Cisco stake was valued at $1 million, about one-third of his $3 million portfolio. As Cisco’s share price swooned in the years that followed, it has represented a ... Ralph Nader, investor
Debiasing: Firms Versus Administrative Agencies
Daniel Kahnemann and co-authors discuss, in the most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review (HT: Brian McCann), various strategies for debiasing individual decisions that impact firm performance. Much of the advice boils down to more conscious deliberation about decisions, incorporating awareness that individuals can be biased into firm-level decisions, and subjecting decisions to more ... Debiasing: Firms Versus Administrative Agencies
Brantley and its Implications for the Proposed Consumer Choice Antitrust Standard
Thom‘s excellent post highlights the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Brantley and describes its implications both in terms of rejecting Professor Elhauge’s claim that metering ties and mere surplus extraction amount to competitive harm for the purposes of antitrust and also for the future of the quasi-per se rule of tying. Thom, in my view ... Brantley and its Implications for the Proposed Consumer Choice Antitrust Standard
