Showing archive for: “Microeconomics: Welfare Economics & Collective Decision-Making”
‘Contemporary Law and Economics,’ by Adam Chilton, Joshua C. Macey & Mila Versteeg
What does it mean to be a law & economics (L&E) scholar? It can’t require a Ph.D. in economics. Richard Posner doesn’t have one. He didn’t even major in economics as an undergraduate, preferring English—as did his Chicago colleagues Douglas Baird and Diane Wood. It can’t require a law degree, either, or Ronald Coase, William ... ‘Contemporary Law and Economics,’ by Adam Chilton, Joshua C. Macey & Mila Versteeg
We Measured Europe’s Browser Revolution. Bring a Magnifying Glass.
Europe’s browser revolution appears to have left most browsers exactly where it found them. The European Commission is celebrating a “surge” in alternatives. The browsing data suggest a ripple. In April, the Commission reviewed the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and pronounced it “fit for purpose.” “Alternative browsers and search engines are being increasingly chosen by ... We Measured Europe’s Browser Revolution. Bring a Magnifying Glass.
Licensed to Wait: The High Cost of Spectrum Delay
America’s wireless future is on hold, pending another study. Federal agencies control much of the spectrum needed to build it—and the process for opening those frequencies rewards incumbents for taking their time. Sustaining U.S. leadership in wireless technology requires more spectrum—the radio frequencies that carry wireless signals—for fifth- and sixth-generation mobile networks (5G and 6G), ... Licensed to Wait: The High Cost of Spectrum Delay
The DMA’s Magic Words and Missing Off Switch
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) depends on two terms that lawmakers never defined. “Fairness” and “contestability” determine how the European Commission measures gatekeeper compliance, imposes new obligations, and grades its own performance every three years. The law uses both terms liberally but explains neither. Recital 79 even promises that the Commission will apply ... The DMA’s Magic Words and Missing Off Switch
All-Inclusive Antitrust: Europe’s New Route to Merger Prohibition
Booking.com wanted to become a one-stop shop for a traveler’s entire journey. European regulators saw a different itinerary: a one-way trip to deeper dominance. In a closely watched Sept. 9 judgment, the European Union’s General Court upheld the European Commission’s 2023 decision blocking Booking’s acquisition of Etraveli. The court agreed that adding Etraveli’s flight-booking business ... All-Inclusive Antitrust: Europe’s New Route to Merger Prohibition
Reserve Judgment: The FTC Takes on Amazon’s Ad Auctions
The price to beat in Amazon’s advertising auctions may not have come from another advertiser at all, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 31 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the complaint, the FTC alleges that Amazon quietly set the price itself, promising one pricing rule and using another. That allegation could support a ... Reserve Judgment: The FTC Takes on Amazon’s Ad Auctions
Competing Too Well: Europe’s New Guide to Dominance
Brussels has finally given Article 102 an instruction manual. Issued Sept. 3, the European Commission’s first comprehensive Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) replace a legal scavenger hunt with a single framework. The catch is that the manual still gives the Commission considerable room ... Competing Too Well: Europe’s New Guide to Dominance
Fine Print for Every Price: The FTC’s One-Size-Fits-All Guidance
My first post at Truth on the Market—where I called myself a “Refugee from the FTC”—briefly discussed an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) published in the Federal Register by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under Chair Lina Khan. This one bore the expansive title “Trade Regulation Rule on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security.” I ... Fine Print for Every Price: The FTC’s One-Size-Fits-All Guidance
‘Deliberation as Self-Discovery and Institutions for Political Speech,’ by Catherine Hafer and Dimitri Landa
The We Are What We Read series is, in part, about what defines the field of law & economics. The field’s natural home lies in applications that are, well, economic. Hence its longstanding—and now standard—role in contracts, corporations, antitrust, torts, and other areas. For this selection, I wanted to show how law & economics can ... ‘Deliberation as Self-Discovery and Institutions for Political Speech,’ by Catherine Hafer and Dimitri Landa
Google, the Unruh Act, and the Legal Risk of Knowing Your Audience
Advertising’s oldest rule is simple: Know your audience. In California, following it may get an online platform sued. Show retirement-home ads to seniors and student discounts to college students, and sensible targeting can suddenly look like unlawful discrimination. That question is now before California’s Sixth Appellate District. The dispute arises from a trial court ruling in ... Google, the Unruh Act, and the Legal Risk of Knowing Your Audience
Brussels Goes Gate-Hunting: AWS, Azure, and the DMA’s Cloud Problem
The European Commission wants to treat cloud computing as a gatekeeper market. That is the wrong diagnosis, and it would lead to the wrong cure. The Commission’s preliminary view that Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure should be designated as Digital Markets Act (DMA) gatekeepers for cloud-computing services is more than another skirmish in ... Brussels Goes Gate-Hunting: AWS, Azure, and the DMA’s Cloud Problem
Fit for Purpose, Unfit for Review: Why the DMA’s First Evaluation Could Never Find Failure
The first review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) reads less like an evaluation than a wellness check performed by the patient’s proud parent. The pulse is strong. The color is good. Any lingering symptoms? Too early to tell. On April 28, 2026, the European Commission published the review required under Article 53 and declared ... Fit for Purpose, Unfit for Review: Why the DMA’s First Evaluation Could Never Find Failure
