Showing archive for: “Structure–Conduct–Performance”
The troubles with business journalists
Chrystia Freeland had some interesting thoughts on this in Sunday’s New York Times: Too much of the top business writing (e.g., Michael Lewis) reports from the inside, based on cooperation with the insiders. Mikael Blomkvist would disapprove. So-called investigative reporters like Gretchen Morgenson obsess over individual wrongdoing instead of root causes. (Don’t get me started.) ... The troubles with business journalists
Behavioral Economics and Consumer Financial Protection for “Nitwits”
In a recent NY Times column largely devoted to improving soccer in various ways and how those methods might be used to improve financial regulation as well, behavioral economist and Nudge author Richard Thaler writes the following about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: “Above all, I’d urge the head of this agency to devise rules ... Behavioral Economics and Consumer Financial Protection for “Nitwits”
A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics
I’ve been, for some time, a behavioral law and economics skeptic. Sometimes this position is confused with skepticism about behavioral economics, as in — believing that behavioral economics itself offers nothing useful to economic science or is illegitimate in some way. That’s not true. Now, I have some qualms about the explanatory power of some ... A “Plain Vanilla” Proposal for Behavioral Law and Economics
Fin Reg and Too Big to Fail: A New Kind of Antitrust?
Simon Johnson argues that the conventional antitrust tools of Sherman Act are outdated and ill-equipped to deal with the power of big banks: Why are these antitrust tools not used against today’s megabanks, which have become so powerful that they can sway legislation and regulation massively in their favor, while also receiving generous taxpayer-financed bailouts ... Fin Reg and Too Big to Fail: A New Kind of Antitrust?
Should schools teach Hayek?
The Texas Board of Education recently decided to add F.A. Hayek to the high school economics curriculum. The New York Times reports: In economics, the revisions add Milton Friedman and Friedrich von Hayek, two champions of free-market economic theory, among the usual list of economists to be studied, like Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John ... Should schools teach Hayek?
On seed industry concentration and its claimed effects [#dojusda #agworkshop]
A common theme throughout the day has been the declining number of seed companies–increasing concentration–and its effect. Except no one has talked about the effect. Other than pointing to the structural change itself, no one seems to have any evidence relating to the effect of the change. One farmer at the open mic session (coincidentally ... On seed industry concentration and its claimed effects [#dojusda #agworkshop]
Credit derivatives don’t kill countries, politicians do
Looking for something to blame for the Greek debt crisis, some observers are pointing their fingers at credit derivatives. An article in yesterday’s New York Times makes the case that credit default swaps (CDS), and specifically their sale by Goldman Sachs, are somewhat to blame in part for Greece’s problems. As I explain in this ... Credit derivatives don’t kill countries, politicians do
Note to Simon Johnson: I do not think antitrust means what you think it means
Simon Johnson is at it again, advocating the use of antitrust to break up the banks because they are, you know, big, and antitrust is about busting up big companies, right? As Josh suggested back in July, the idea is gaining momentum, it seems. The Financial Times is also pushing the idea. What’s remarkable about ... Note to Simon Johnson: I do not think antitrust means what you think it means
Gretchen Morgenson Calls for Greater Protection (?) of High-Risk Consumers of Credit
Gretchen Morgenson doesn’t want poor people to have access to consumer credit. At least, that’s what I think she’s saying in her rambling NYT column this week. Congress and federal regulators have recently taken a number of actions that will make it tougher for riskier customers to access consumer credit. First there was the Credit ... Gretchen Morgenson Calls for Greater Protection (?) of High-Risk Consumers of Credit
Thaler’s Unsound Argument About the Public Insurance Option
University of Chicago economist (and behavioralist doyen) Richard Thaler thinks “the question of whether a ‘public option’ should be part of the health care solution” is just “one big distraction.” In Sunday’s New York Times, Thaler argues that the debate over the public option is a “red herring” if, as President Obama insists, the public ... Thaler’s Unsound Argument About the Public Insurance Option
Wanna Keep This Economic Mess to a Minimum? Honor Contracts.
New York Times business columnist Joe Nocera insists that current economic conditions call for courts to ignore carefully negotiated contracts between sophisticated business entities. Arguing that Dow Chemical Company should be free to walk away from its agreement to buy specialty chemical manufacturer Rohm & Haas, Mr. Nocera contends that “maybe, just maybe, deals that ... Wanna Keep This Economic Mess to a Minimum? Honor Contracts.
Price Discrimination is Good, Part 2
Yesterday I started a new TOTM feature on why price discrimination is good in light of the bad rap that the practice gets in public policy circles and with the public generally. Lest one believe that the examples of regulatory scrutiny of price discrimination in antitrust and regulated industries are special cases, a reader points ... Price Discrimination is Good, Part 2
