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TOTM How should an economist interpret the fact that Microsoft appears to be “behind” recent enforcement actions against Google in the United States and, especially, in . . .
How should an economist interpret the fact that Microsoft appears to be “behind” recent enforcement actions against Google in the United States and, especially, in Europe?
“With skepticism!” Is the answer I suspect many readers will offer upon first glance. There is a long public choice literature, and long history in antitrust itself, that suggests that one should be weary of private enforcement of the antitrust laws against rivals both in the form of litigation and attempts to delegate the enforcement effort (and costs) to the government.
Read the full piece here.
TOTM The opinion in Ovation (i.e. FTC v. Lundbeck) is now available. The first footnote in Judge Ericksen’s opinion notes that “the FTC and Minnesota began . . .
The opinion in Ovation (i.e. FTC v. Lundbeck) is now available. The first footnote in Judge Ericksen’s opinion notes that “the FTC and Minnesota began their closing argument by disclaiming the notion that these cases were ‘about unhappiness about the high price of Indocin.’ Nevertheless, the FTC and Minnesota cited in their post-trial response a press release issued by the FTC to announce the action’s commencement. The press release asserts that the acquisition of NeoProfen resulted in the increase of Indocin IV’s price by almost 1300%; characterizes the prices charged by Lundbeck as ‘artificially high;’ and notes one commissioner’s view that Lundbeck’s ‘profiteering on the backs of critically ill premature babies is not only immoral, it is illegal.”
TOTM In my academic research, I’ve studied contractual arrangements between manufacturers and retailers for premium shelf space, including slotting arrangements and category management contracts. Typically, a . . .
In my academic research, I’ve studied contractual arrangements between manufacturers and retailers for premium shelf space, including slotting arrangements and category management contracts. Typically, a shelf space arrangement in the retail sector will involve the supplier compensating the retailer for some specified promotional shelving arrangement, e.g. end-caps or eye level space, or a share of the total shelf space dedicated to a particular product category. These arrangements have much in common with what is commonly referred to as product placement (see also the economics of celebrity endorsements).
TOTM At Econ Journal Watch. Professor Allen offers a wonderful personal history of the UCLA Economics Department, including the rise and fall of what he describes . . .
At Econ Journal Watch. Professor Allen offers a wonderful personal history of the UCLA Economics Department, including the rise and fall of what he describes as “the Alchian Department.” The entire article is worth reading, but I include here an excerpt from Professor Allen’s Nobel (and University Award) nomination on behalf of Armen…
TOTM There are some new developments in the Federal Trade Commission’s consummated merger case brought against Ovation. Namely, the FTC has lost. TOTM readers may recall . . .
There are some new developments in the Federal Trade Commission’s consummated merger case brought against Ovation. Namely, the FTC has lost. TOTM readers may recall that I spent some time criticizing the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint, back in 2008, in FTC v. Ovation in federal district court in Minnesota. As I described the stylized facts back then…
TOTM Economist and occasional TOTM guest blogger Steve Salop (Georgetown) recently sent me the following questions spurred by the local debate over Governor McConnell’s proposal to . . .
Economist and occasional TOTM guest blogger Steve Salop (Georgetown) recently sent me the following questions spurred by the local debate over Governor McConnell’s proposal to private the retailing of alcoholic beverages…
Popular Media This fall I’m teaching “Economics of Institutions and Organizations” to first-year graduate students. The reading list is rather heavy, compared to what most students are . . .
This fall I’m teaching “Economics of Institutions and Organizations” to first-year graduate students. The reading list is rather heavy, compared to what most students are used to from their undergraduate courses and their first-year courses in microeconomics, econometrics, etc. I explain that they need to become not only avid readers, but also efficient readers, able to extract the maximum information from an academic article with the least effort. They need to learn, in other words, the art of the skim.
TOTM Steve Salop, Serge Moresi, and John Woodbury have posted a very useful primer on the new HMGs new “value of diverted sales” approach to unilateral . . .
Steve Salop, Serge Moresi, and John Woodbury have posted a very useful primer on the new HMGs new “value of diverted sales” approach to unilateral effects: the gross upward pricing pressure index (GUPPI). Here’s the basic idea…
TOTM Intel Chairman and CEO Paul Otellini recently gave the keynote address at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum on the US regulation environment and its . . .
Intel Chairman and CEO Paul Otellini recently gave the keynote address at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum on the US regulation environment and its effect of innovation and economic growth (HT: CNET, WSJ). The speech got some play in the media because of its overall depressing tone for the US, and its frank criticism of the current state of US regulatory affairs.
