Showing archive for: “Price Controls & Gouging”
Taking Price Gouging Laws Seriously
Over at Organization and Markets, Peter Klein notes that consumers have been exploiting producers by taking advantage of market conditions, reducing their demand for gasoline, and earning windfall profits.
Odd FTC Consent in Vertical Licensing Case
The FTC announced a complaint today challenging Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co.’s proposed acquisition of an exclusive sublicense from Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, who is in turn a wholly owned subsidiary of a Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo Company. The sublicense would allow Fresenius to manufacturer and supply the intravenous iron drug Venofer to dialysis clinics in ... Odd FTC Consent in Vertical Licensing Case
Cleaning up after Pasquale's hit job
Recently, Frank Pasquale at Concurring Opinions wrote a blog post did a drive-by hit on FTC Chairman Majoras supporting her recusal from considering the Google/DoubleClick merger now pending before the FTC.  You really have to read the post to get the full effect of the innuendo and intimation–it’s masterfully subtle. At the time I commented on ... Cleaning up after Pasquale's hit job
Junk Social Science in the Medical Bankruptcy Debate
My GMU colleague Todd Zywicki and Gail Heriot (USD) have an op-ed in the Washington Times exposing Harvard Professors David Himmelstein and Elizabeth Warren’s study on medical debt and bankruptcy, presented to Congress earlier this week, as “one of the most misleading pieces of research ever placed before Congress — no small dishonor.” The punchline ... Junk Social Science in the Medical Bankruptcy Debate
The FTC Releases its Credit-Based Insurance Scores Report
Available here. Here are a few of the key findings of the study which examined the use of credit-based scores to determine automobile insurance rates: Scores effectively predict the number of claims consumers file and the total cost of those claims. Their use is likely to make the price of insurance better match the risk ... The FTC Releases its Credit-Based Insurance Scores Report
Manne on Shareholder Democracy
Henry Manne is back with another article in the WSJ. This time Manne goes toe-to-toe with the “corporate democrats.” Profs Ribstein (“Shareholder democracy is just one of the burdens that public corporations have to bear these days”) and Bainbridge (“it’s a brilliant spanking of the shareholder activists, which I highly commend to your attention”) have ... Manne on Shareholder Democracy
Teaching Law Students Economics
Larry Ribstein has an interesting post responding to Professor Warren’s discussion of her own classroom experiences teaching Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585, 593-94 (1991). Professor Warren describes a discussion with her students involving the notion raised by Justice Blackmun that “passengers who purchase tickets containing a forum clause like that at ... Teaching Law Students Economics
Salinger on Price Gouging
Economist Michael Salinger, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics for the past year, comments on the recent FTC Report and price gouging in Sunday’s WSJ (HT: Greg Mankiw). I have blogged a bit about the FTC Report previously: once about its findings (that “market manipulation” did not explain post-Katrina price increases), once ... Salinger on Price Gouging
Buy or Die
AEI is hosting an event focusing on the problems of the nation’s shortage of vital organs. The website has links to the papers. The event agenda includes my friend and colleague Lloyd Cohen, who has done a good deal of work in this area (including this). Here’s the event description: The nation’s system for procuring ... Buy or Die
Some Reactions to FTC Report on "Gouging"
I posted on the FTC Report findings earlier. In sum, the FTC was able to identify only isolated and sporadic incidences of pricing behavior which were not explained by changes in supply and demand conditions at the local, regional, and national level. In addition, the FTC investigation did not reveal any antitrust violations. The reactions ... Some Reactions to FTC Report on "Gouging"
The FTC Report on Price Gouging (And Its Absence)
The Federal Trade Commission was directed to investigate the possibility of price gouging and manipulation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The FTC released its 222 page report today (HT: Antitrust Review). It is a comprehensive analysis of local, regional, and national prices before and after Katrina and Rita. One of the key tasks charged ... The FTC Report on Price Gouging (And Its Absence)
Economic Illiteracy of the Week?
Via Ted Frank at Point of Law, the House has overwhelmingly passed a price gouging bill that will not help consumers, but on the bright side, is likely to provide a fresh example for microeconomics instructors teaching the consequences of price controls. The award for economic illiteracy of the week goes to the whole House, ... Economic Illiteracy of the Week?
