Showing archive for: “Error Costs”
Against Consumer Choice as an Antitrust Standard (Some Preliminary Thoughts)
The “consumer choice” approach to antitrust is increasingly discussed in a variety of settings, and endorsed by regulators and in scholarship, especially but not exclusively in the Section 5 context. The fundamental idea is that the “conventional” efficiency approach embedded in the total and/or consumer welfare standards is too cramped and does not measure the ... Against Consumer Choice as an Antitrust Standard (Some Preliminary Thoughts)
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
Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
In response to a week with what the NFL perceives to be a large number of tackles causing injury, the league is ready to announce a new policy in which players will be suspended for certain hits the league deems to dangerous or too likely to cause injury. This is a change from the NFL’s ... Optimal Sanctions for NFL Hits
Do Republicans Hate Behavioral Economics?
Ezra Klein has an interesting blog post covering Peter Diamond’s nomination to Federal Reserve Board. The standard refrain in this debate has been something like: “See! The Republicans blocked Diamond and now he won the Nobel — don’t they look silly now.” I don’t find the particular issue of comparing Diamond’s qualifications as an economist ... Do Republicans Hate Behavioral Economics?
Me Too @ Cato’s Constitution Day
Like Larry, I’ll be at Cato on Constitution Day. TOTM will be well represented. While Larry covers Jones v. Harris and mutual funds, I’ll have my sights on the Roberts Court’s recent decision in American Needle v. NFL. See you there! The abstract of my paper (co-authored with Judd Stone), Antitrust Formalism is Dead! Long ... Me Too @ Cato’s Constitution Day
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
Antitrust Formalism Is Dead! Long Live Antitrust Formalism!: Some Implications of American Needle v. NFL
My take on American Needle, forthcoming in the Cato Supreme Court Review and co-authored with Judd Stone. I’ll be discussing the paper at the Cato Institute Constitution Day on September 16th, and as luck would have it, on a panel with co-blogger Larry Ribstein (who will be offering his take on Jones v. Harris) is ... Antitrust Formalism Is Dead! Long Live Antitrust Formalism!: Some Implications of American Needle v. NFL
More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
With all the talk about the CFPB, Elizabeth Warren has been in the news lately. The blogs too. Most of the discussion has been about whether or not Timothy Geithner is a friend or foe to the Democrats’ preferred option of getting Warren nominated as the first chief of the CFPB. Today, Megan McArdle started ... More on Elizabeth Warren on Theory and Interpreting Data
USDA Pushes Regulatory Elimination of Consumer Harm Requirement
Danny Sokol points to the Obama administration’s most recent effort to “reinvigorate” competition policy: some new proposed rules adding new sections to the existing regulations under the Packers & Stockyards Act. Emerging from the joint DOJ/ USDA agriculture workshops (see comments from Manne & Wright here; TOTM archives on agricultural antitrust here), the USDA must ... USDA Pushes Regulatory Elimination of Consumer Harm Requirement
Why Congress Should Reject the FTC’s Request for a Trinko Exemption
One of the most significant issues in current US antitrust policy has been the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to avoid some of the rigorous requirements imposed by Section 2 of the Sherman Act in monopolization cases by expanding FTC authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA). This issue is nothing new. ... Why Congress Should Reject the FTC’s Request for a Trinko Exemption
Who is Pressuring Antitrust? A Response to Wright
[Jonathan Baker (American University, currently on leave at the Federal Communications Commission where he is Chief Economist) has written the following response to Josh’s earlier post commenting on Baker’s forthcoming article: Preserving a Political Bargain: The Political Economy of the Non-Interventionist Challenge to Monopolization Enforcement. Eds.] Thanks to Josh for engaging with my article in ... Who is Pressuring Antitrust? A Response to Wright
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
