Showing archive for: “Economics”
Cassano wins the corporate crime lottery
Justice has decided not to go after Joe Cassano, the man who crashed the world. The WSJ attributes this decision to the “high bar [the government] needs to meet to make criminal charges stick in a courtroom.” How nice that the government has discovered this bar. That could have something to do with its getting its head ... Cassano wins the corporate crime lottery
The Capitalist & The Entrepreneur: Essays on Organizations and Markets
I purchased my copy of Peter Klein’s latest — The Capitalist & The Entrepreneur: Essays on Organizations and Markets — today. It is available for purchase here and here. And if you wont to sneak a peak, you can see the full version here. The role of the entrepreneur is one of the more under-theorized ... The Capitalist & The Entrepreneur: Essays on Organizations and Markets
Comments on Jonathan Baker's Preserving a Political Bargain
I’ve recently finished reading Jonathan Baker’s Preserving a Political Bargain: The Political Economy of the Non-Interventionist Challenge to Monopolization Enforcement, forthcoming in the Antitrust Law Journal. Baker’s central thesis in Preserving a Political Bargain builds on earlier work concerning competition policy as an implicit political bargain that was reached during the 1940s between the more ... Comments on Jonathan Baker's Preserving a Political Bargain
Taxing private equity
The venerable debate over carried interest compensation of private equity managers is heating up again. The NYT’s Andrew Sorkin is predicting Congress will vote to tax it as ordinary income rather than capital gains, which Sorkin thinks is a good thing: Under their current partnership structure, however, [private equity] general partners * * * receive ... Taxing private equity
Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
Chris Hoofnagle writing at the TAP blog about Facebook’s comprehensive privacy options (“To opt out of full disclosure of most information, it is necessary to click through more than 50 privacy buttons, which then require choosing among a total of more than 170 options.”) claims that: This approach is brilliant. The company can appease regulators ... Facile claims of behavioral economics: too much choice; not enough privacy
Mike Rosen Radio Show on Behavioral Economics
I’m scheduled to be on the Mike Rosen show (Denver-based 850 KOA am) in a few minutes to discuss behavioral economics and the new paternalism. If you are not in the Denver area, I think you can listen online here.
An open letter on insider trading to Gene Fama and Ken French
Dear Gene and Ken: I must say that I was totally flabbergasted when I read your recent blog posting on insider trading. I know that your usual posts on investments, which I often cite to friends, are well-informed and empirically-supported; your work over the years on these topics is important and influential—and rightly so. Unfortunately, ... An open letter on insider trading to Gene Fama and Ken French
A Follow Up on the Cato Unbound Conversation on New Paternalism
Two weeks ago I highlighted the promising looking Cato Unbound forum on the new paternalism kicked off by Glen Whitman, with follow up posts and responses from the King (or co-King along with Cass Sunstein) of Nudge, Richard Thaler, along with Jonathan Klick and Shane Frederick. I was really excited about the forum, because I ... A Follow Up on the Cato Unbound Conversation on New Paternalism
Some Warnings for Modern Pigovians (from Pigou Himself)
We live in a time of optimism about government’s ability to improve upon the unregulated state of affairs. From health insurance to financial markets to the types of fats we eat, cars we drive, and sources of energy we consume, there is a sense among our political, media, and academic elites that our privately ordered ... Some Warnings for Modern Pigovians (from Pigou Himself)
Klick on Libertarian Paternalism: The Dangers of Letting Someone Else Decide
Jonathan Klick (Penn) is next up in the Cato Unbound forum on libertarian paternalism featuring entries from Glen Whitman and Richard Thaler (and one from Shane Frederick coming). My initial reaction to Thaler’s response to Whitman was that it was far too dismissive, defensive, and a bit out of tone for my own liking, but ... Klick on Libertarian Paternalism: The Dangers of Letting Someone Else Decide
The New Paternalism at Cato Unbound
The excellent lead essay is from Glen Whitman, with responses planned from Richard Thaler, Jonathan Klick and Shane Frederick. It should be a very interesting exchange. Here is, in my view, one of Whitman’s best paragraphs: Nevertheless, Sunstein and Thaler (in Nudge) respond to the slippery-slope argument by saying we should “make progress on those ... The New Paternalism at Cato Unbound
Antitrust Exam Question: Do the Major Institutional Investors Have an Antitrust Problem?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that major institutional investors — CalPERS, CalSTRS, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, etc. — have collectively adopted a set of recommended practices that is “rankling” private equity firms. Had I not discussed the article in my Antitrust class, I’d use it as the basis for an exam question. ... Antitrust Exam Question: Do the Major Institutional Investors Have an Antitrust Problem?
