Showing archive for: “Economics”
Coase and the 800 Pound Man
Ronald Coase has been on my mind quite a bit lately. His ideas have made a couple of recent appearances in my business organizations class. As I’ve explained before, we spend the first day of Bus Orgs contrasting F.A. Hayek’s The Use of Knowledge in Society, which argues that central planning is destined to fail because planners cannot gather ... Coase and the 800 Pound Man
The Microsoft-Google Antitrust Wars and Public Choice: There is Too An Argument Against Rival Involvement in Antitrust Enforcement
How should an economist interpret the fact that Microsoft appears to be “behind” recent enforcement actions against Google in the United States and, especially, in Europe? “With skepticism!” Is the answer I suspect many readers will offer upon first glance. There is a long public choice literature, and long history in antitrust itself, that suggests ... The Microsoft-Google Antitrust Wars and Public Choice: There is Too An Argument Against Rival Involvement in Antitrust Enforcement
Allen on Alchian and the UCLA School
At Econ Journal Watch. Professor Allen offers a wonderful personal history of the UCLA Economics Department, including the rise and fall of what he describes as “the Alchian Department.” The entire article is worth reading, but I include here an excerpt from Professor Allen’s Nobel (and University Award) nomination on behalf of Armen: Economics is ... Allen on Alchian and the UCLA School
The Law and Economics of Privatizing Alcohol Sales
Economist and occasional TOTM guest blogger Steve Salop (Georgetown) recently sent me the following questions spurred by the local debate over Governor McConnell’s proposal to private the retailing of alcoholic beverages: I have my first antitrust class of the semester tomorrow. Among the issues I teach the first week are (1) the fact that demand ... The Law and Economics of Privatizing Alcohol Sales
The Roberts Court and the Limits of Antitrust
I’ve just finished a draft of a paper for an upcoming conference on the Roberts Court’s business law decisions. Volokh blogger Jonathan Adler, who directs the Center for Business Law and Regulation at Case Western, is organizing the conference. The other presenters are Adam Pritchard from Michigan (covering the Court’s securities decisions), Brian Fitzpatrick from ... The Roberts Court and the Limits of Antitrust
Deception and “Tells” in Business in Poker
The Economist points to a very interesting study by Stanford’s David Larcker and Anastasia Zakolyukina on the use of deception in the business environment (HT: Brian McCann). The article’s title, “How to Tell When Your Boss is Lying,” gets at the thrust of the piece. Larcker and Zakolyukina look at conference call transcripts from 2003 ... Deception and “Tells” in Business in Poker
TOTM Welcomes Eric Helland
TOTM is very pleased to announce the addition of yet another permanent blogger to our roster. Eric Helland is an economist at Claremont-McKenna College and publishes extensively in law and economics. Among other accomplishments, Eric has served as a Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Eric’s publication record is extensive, and ... TOTM Welcomes Eric Helland
The future of the Company and the Uncorporation
The Economist has some important recognition of the uncorporation, written by its Schumpeter columnist, who is Adrian Wooldridge. Wooldridge co-wrote with John Micklethwait an important little book called The Company. The article begins, in the spirit of Wooldridge’s book, by noting that “for most of the past 150 years public companies have swept all before ... The future of the Company and the Uncorporation
Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Commissioner Rosch has offered an interesting separate statement on the new HMGs. While favoring the new guidelines generally, Commissioner Rosch offers several criticisms. I concur with a few of these criticisms, for example, Commissioner Rosch also argues for a more empirical approach to merger analysis. I agree with that general proposition despite, as we shall ... Who Are You Calling A Price Theorist Anyway?: Commissioner Rosch Takes on the HMGs Economist “Architects”
Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
(Law Review Editors take note, my recent submission mentioned in the following post, titled: “Defending Against Shareholder Proxy Access: Delaware’s Future Reviewing Company Defenses in the Era of Dodd-Frank” is still in the process of negotiating for a permanent Law Review home, although the expedite process is getting very hot.) After two years of steadily ... Top Ten Books in Corporate Governance
The Countrywide cases
The WSJ today covers the legal battles surrounding Countrywide Financial. The story is about the effort to hang somebody for the financial crisis. It also reveals much about the problems of criminalization of corporate agency costs, the politicization of criminal justice, and financial reform. The case against Countrywide and its former ceo Angelo Mozilo is ... The Countrywide cases
The CARE Act and State Regulation of Alcohol Distribution: The Competitive and Social Effects of Post and Hold Laws
In an earlier post on the CARE Act, I highlighted the fact that the law would essentially immunize state laws regulating the distribution and sale of beer, wine and liquor wholesalers from challenge under the Commerce clause and the Sherman Act. For more details on the CARE Act, see the earlier post, but the bottom ... The CARE Act and State Regulation of Alcohol Distribution: The Competitive and Social Effects of Post and Hold Laws
