Research Programs
More
What are you looking for?
Showing Latest Publications
TOTM Geoff nailed it on the Whole Foods/Wild Oats affair last week. Always a day late and a dollar short, I’ve just written my own short . . .
Geoff nailed it on the Whole Foods/Wild Oats affair last week. Always a day late and a dollar short, I’ve just written my own short piece on the FTC’s effort to block the merger of these two fancy grocers.
Read the full piece here.
TOTM My future colleague, Danny Sokol (who’ll be visiting at Missouri Law next year), is one of the authors of the fantastic Antitrust & Competition Policy . . .
My future colleague, Danny Sokol (who’ll be visiting at Missouri Law next year), is one of the authors of the fantastic Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog. Danny requested that I post the following…
TOTM Geoff’s post last week on the FTC’s move to block the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger poked fun at a stupid pun appearing in the agency’s . . .
Geoff’s post last week on the FTC’s move to block the Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger poked fun at a stupid pun appearing in the agency’s press release: “If Whole Foods is allowed to devour Wild Oats, it will mean higher prices, reduced quality, and fewer choices for consumers. That is a deal consumers should not be required to swallow.” Geoff called the remark “very punny.” I, too, thought the remark was a bit too cute when I read it last Wednesday on the FTC’s website. A number of news articles on the FTC’s decision (e.g., here, here, and here) quoted the same pun from the press release. One assumes it was formulated as a soundbite for news stories.
TOTM It appears that the FTC is moving to stop the proposed Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger. Read the full piece here.
It appears that the FTC is moving to stop the proposed Whole Foods/Wild Oats merger.
TOTM One of the more interesting parts of Senator Herbert Kohl’s recent Antitrust interview, in which he also discussed airline mergers, concerned antitrust’s treatment of media . . .
One of the more interesting parts of Senator Herbert Kohl’s recent Antitrust interview, in which he also discussed airline mergers, concerned antitrust’s treatment of media consolidation.
TOTM My apologies for the blogging hiatus. I’ve spent the last ten days grading, traveling, grading, being sick, and hanging out with family in sunny San . . .
My apologies for the blogging hiatus. I’ve spent the last ten days grading, traveling, grading, being sick, and hanging out with family in sunny San Diego. But now the grading is done, I’m feeling better, and I’ve had an opportunity to do a little blog-speed catch up. I guess the biggest antitrust news is Twombly, so I’ll start there.
TOTM The FTC’s Bureau of Economics has scheduled a conference that looks very interesting and concerns a subject near and dear to my heart: antitrust in . . .
The FTC’s Bureau of Economics has scheduled a conference that looks very interesting and concerns a subject near and dear to my heart: antitrust in the supermarket! Sadly, I will not be able to attend as I am going to take a little bit of a paper grading/ battery re-charge vacation for the next few weeks before starting my full-time tour of duty at the Commission.
TOTM As you may know, this past Friday we (Geoff and Josh) organized the inaugural GMU/Microsoft Conference on the Law and Economics of Innovation. Overall, we . . .
As you may know, this past Friday we (Geoff and Josh) organized the inaugural GMU/Microsoft Conference on the Law and Economics of Innovation. Overall, we were extremely pleased with our first entry in this conference series, The Regulation of Innovation and Economic Growth. We had about 130 register for the conference, including many high level FTC and DOJ officials, academics, and industry representatives. In the end we had about 95 attendees. We also hosted a dinner for about 45 Washington VIPs (several FTC folks, a federal judge, prominent attorneys, representatives from USTR and Commerce, etc.) the evening before at Citronelle. A good time and good conversation were had by all.
TOTM One nice thing about being a legal academic is that you can diversify your political portfolio. By that, I mean that you become somewhat indifferent . . .
One nice thing about being a legal academic is that you can diversify your political portfolio. By that, I mean that you become somewhat indifferent to who’s in office. If it’s folks you agree with, then you’re happy because your preferred policies are being implemented. If it’s folks with whom you disagree, then you’re happy because your job (criticizing bad policy) becomes easier.