Showing archive for: “Harm to Competition”
Antitrust Enforcement in Reverse: Getting Efficiencies Backwards
A century ago Congress enacted the Clayton Act, which prohibits acquisitions that may substantially lessen competition. For years, the antitrust enforcement Agencies looked at only one part of the ledger – the potential for price increases. Agencies didn’t take into account the potential efficiencies in cost savings, better products, services, and innovation. One of the major ... Antitrust Enforcement in Reverse: Getting Efficiencies Backwards
Highlights from Josh Wright’s Interview in The Antitrust Source
Anyone interested in antitrust enforcement policy (and what TOTM reader isn’t?) should read FTC Commissioner Josh Wright’s interview in the latest issue of The Antitrust Source. The extensive (22 page!) interview covers a number of topics and demonstrates the positive influence Commissioner Wright is having on antitrust enforcement and competition policy in general. Commissioner Wright’s ... Highlights from Josh Wright’s Interview in The Antitrust Source
Antitrust Law and Economics Scholars Urge Reversal in McWane
Last Monday, a group of nineteen scholars of antitrust law and economics, including yours truly, urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse the Federal Trade Commission’s recent McWane ruling. McWane, the largest seller of domestically produced iron pipe fittings (DIPF), would sell its products only to distributors that “fully supported” ... Antitrust Law and Economics Scholars Urge Reversal in McWane
A Cost-Benefit Framework for Antitrust Enforcement Policy
Debates among modern antitrust experts focus primarily on the appropriate indicia of anticompetitive behavior, the particular methodologies that should be applied in assessing such conduct, and the best combination and calibration of antitrust sanctions (fines, jail terms, injunctive relief, cease and desist orders). Given a broad consensus that antitrust rules should promote consumer welfare (albeit ... A Cost-Benefit Framework for Antitrust Enforcement Policy
Cablevision v. Viacom and the Sad State of Tying Doctrine
Whereas the antitrust rules on a number of once-condemned business practices (e.g., vertical non-price restraints, resale price maintenance, price squeezes) have become more economically sensible in the last few decades, the law on tying remains an embarrassment. The sad state of the doctrine is evident in a federal district court’s recent denial of Viacom’s motion to dismiss a tying action ... Cablevision v. Viacom and the Sad State of Tying Doctrine
Lessons from Marrakech for US regulatory reform: All aboard the train
I thank Truth on the Market (and especially Geoff Manne) for adding me as a regular TOTM blogger, writing on antitrust, IP, and regulatory policy. I am a newly minted Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and alumnus of BlackBerry and the Federal Trade Commission. Representatives of over 100 competition agencies from around the ... Lessons from Marrakech for US regulatory reform: All aboard the train
Commissioner Wright Nails It on Minimum RPM
FTC Commissioner Josh Wright is on a roll. A couple of days before his excellent Ardagh/Saint Gobain dissent addressing merger efficiencies, Wright delivered a terrific speech on minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). The speech, delivered in London to the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, signaled that Wright will seek to correct the FTC’s ... Commissioner Wright Nails It on Minimum RPM
Getting efficiencies right at the FTC: Commissioner Wright dissents in Ardagh/Saint-Gobain merger
FTC Commissioner Josh Wright pens an incredibly important dissent in the FTC’s recent Ardagh/Saint-Gobain merger review. At issue is how pro-competitive efficiencies should be considered by the agency under the Merger Guidelines. As Josh notes, the core problem is the burden of proof: Merger analysis is by its nature a predictive enterprise. Thinking rigorously about ... Getting efficiencies right at the FTC: Commissioner Wright dissents in Ardagh/Saint-Gobain merger
Why the Antitrust Realities Support the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger
I have a new article on the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger in the latest edition of the CPI Antitrust Chronicle, which includes several other articles on the merger, as well. In a recent essay, Allen Grunes & Maurice Stucke (who also have an essay in the CPI issue) pose a thought experiment: If Comcast can ... Why the Antitrust Realities Support the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger
Commissioner Wright’s McWane Dissent Illuminates the Law and Economics of Exclusive Dealing
Commissioner Josh Wright’s dissenting statement in the Federal Trade Commission’s recent McWane proceeding is a must-read for anyone interested in the law and economics of exclusive dealing. Wright dissented from the Commission’s holding that McWane Inc.’s “full support” policy constituted unlawful monopolization of the market for domestic pipe fittings. Under the challenged policy, McWane, the ... Commissioner Wright’s McWane Dissent Illuminates the Law and Economics of Exclusive Dealing
Why the New Evidence on Minimum RPM Doesn’t Justify a Per Se or Quick Look Approach
Mike Sykuta and I recently co-authored a short article discussing the latest evidence on, and proper legal treatment of, minimum resale price maintenance (RPM). Following is a bit about the article (which is available here). Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s Leegin decision holding that minimum RPM must be evaluated under antitrust’s Rule of Reason, the ... Why the New Evidence on Minimum RPM Doesn’t Justify a Per Se or Quick Look Approach
Google: Great Deal or Greatest Deal?
Critics of Google have argued that users overvalue Google’s services in relation to the data they give away. One breath-taking headline asked Who Would Pay $5,000 to Use Google?, suggesting that Google and its advertisers can make as much as $5,000 off of individuals whose data they track. Scholars, such as Nathan Newman, have used this ... Google: Great Deal or Greatest Deal?
