Showing archive for: “Efficiencies”
Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines, Again
Do the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines require market definition? Will the agencies define markets in cases they bring? Are they required to do so by the Guidelines? By the Clayton Act? Here is Commissioner Rosch in the FTC Annual Report (p.18): “A significant development in 2010 was the issuance of updated Horizontal Merger Guidelines by ... Market Definition and the Merger Guidelines, Again
No Facts, No Problem?
There has been, as is to be expected, plenty of casual analysis of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger to go around. As I mentioned, I think there are a number of interesting issues to be resolved in an investigation with access to the facts necessary to conduct the appropriate analysis. Annie Lowery’s piece in Slate ... No Facts, No Problem?
The AT&T and T-Mobile Merger
The big merger news is that AT&T is planning to acquire T-Mobile. From the AT&T press release: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Deutsche Telekom AG (FWB: DTE) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately ... The AT&T and T-Mobile Merger
Gans on Apple and Antitrust
Joshua Gans has an interesting post examining potential antitrust issues involving Apple, an issue we’ve discussed here and here. Gans focuses in on the two most relevant issues: There are two aspects that might raise antitrust concern: (i) Apple’s exclusivity-like requirement that no external payment links be permitted in apps and (ii) Apple’s most-favored customer ... Gans on Apple and Antitrust
The Sound of One Hand Clapping: The 2010 Merger Guidelines and the Challenge of Judicial Adoption
Along with co-author Judd Stone, I’ve posted to SSRN our contribution to the Review of Industrial Organization‘s symposium on the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines — The Sound of One Hand Clapping: The 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the Challenge of Judicial Adoption. The paper focuses on the Guidelines’ efficiencies analysis. We argue that while the ... The Sound of One Hand Clapping: The 2010 Merger Guidelines and the Challenge of Judicial Adoption
Paths to competitiveness: more spending vs. better laws
As Steve Bainbridge recently noted: Obama said . . . that making the U.S. more competitive means investing in a more educated work force, committing more to research and technology, and improving everything from highways and airports to high-speed Internet. He observes that a better way to increase U.S. competitiveness is by changing the law ... Paths to competitiveness: more spending vs. better laws
DOJ Gears Up To Challenge Proposed Google-ITA Merger
The WSJ reports that the DOJ is getting itself ready to challenge the Google-ITA merger (see earlier TOTM posts here and here): Justice Department staff lawyers have begun preparing legal documents for use in a possible court challenge to the $700 million deal for ITA Software Inc., but no decision to proceed has been made, ... DOJ Gears Up To Challenge Proposed Google-ITA Merger
Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
Steven Pearlstein at the Washington Post asks if it’s “Time to loosen Google’s grip.” The article is an analytical mess. Pearlstein is often a decent business reporter–I’m not sure what went wrong here, but this is a pretty shoddy piece of antitrust journalism. For the most part, the article is a series of tired claims ... Why can’t we have a better press corps?: WaPo Google antitrust edition
Sprigman and Buccafusco on Behavioral Law and Economics and the Road from Lab to Law
In our second post, we want to discuss some of the implications of the study (the details of which we described in our first post). One of the consistent concerns about BL&E in this symposium is about the too-quick jump from data to policy. We should emphasize that we think more work needs to be ... Sprigman and Buccafusco on Behavioral Law and Economics and the Road from Lab to Law
Sprigman and Buccafusco on Valuing Intellectual Property
We would like to start by thanking Josh for inviting us to participate in what promises to be a fascinating discussion on an important subject. We’re looking forward to engaging with the other members of the symposium. To begin with, we would like to talk about some of our own experimental research on the valuation ... Sprigman and Buccafusco on Valuing Intellectual Property
Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
?Carl Shapiro’s (DOJ) speech at the ABA Fall Forum contains (at least) two interesting tidbits worth highlighting for TOTM readers. The first is a discussion of the DOJ’s case against Blue Cross Blue Shield, which as discussed here, turns on an economic analysis of the use of most-favored nations clauses in contractual arrangements with hospitals: ... Carl Shapiro on BCBS and the New Merger Guidelines
Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
My Missouri colleague, Peter Klein, of Organizations and Markets fame (and, like Larry, a proud non-voter), has been asked to contribute a book chapter on the Austrian theory of the firm and the law. Peter, who has written extensively on the Austrian theory of the firm and maintains an online bibliography on the subject, is ... Business Law and the Austrian Theory of the Firm
