In a recent commentary at Forbes.com, former Clinton administration economist Robert Shapiro argues that some 250,000 jobs would be created, and consumers would save $27 billion annually, by reducing the interchange fee charged to merchants for transactions made by consumers using credit and debit cards.  If true, these are some incredible numbers.

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A Senate panel approved the Leegin Bill on a voice vote (HT: Main Justice).  The story behind the link suggests that there is some Republican opposition brewing.  I suspect there will be hearings.  The Bill’s findings make the following two observations…

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Justin Wolfers is one of my favorite economics bloggers in large part because of the empirical, evidence-based approach he takes to economics problems and policy issues.  As co-blogger Todd points out, Wolfers recently generated some data (JSTOR citation counts) that he argues supports the assertion that Hayek is out-classed by those mentioned in the title to this post.  Wolfers, who I think very highly of as an economist, seems to think so, and pointing out that Larry Summers (and presumably a ton of others) out-influence Hayek by this measure.  I thought the post was tongue-in-cheek, to be honest, before I saw the recent update where Wolfers sticks to his guns and cannot reject the hypothesis, therefore, that “insisting that high schools teach Hayek is a clear statement of ideology, not of economic science.”

Read the full piece here. 

The Texas Board of Education recently decided to add F.A. Hayek to the high school economics curriculum. The New York Times reports…

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The soda industry is trending toward vertical integration, which Coke and Pepsi acquiring their largest bottlers.  From the WSJ…

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A number of opponents of Obamacare, such as Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn, have criticized the President and his people for referring to pending proposals as “health insurance reform” rather than “health care reform.” I suppose these critics think the President is engaging in a sleight of hand in an effort to minimize the significance of the reform proposals — as in, “We’re not reforming the whole health care system, just health insurance. No biggie.” But Mr. Obama is right. This proposal is about insurance rather than the provision of health care itself. And that’s the main problem.

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To expand on Geoff’s post about concentration in the seed industry, there has been a consistent line of discussion throughout the day raising the specter of monopoly and anti-competitive behavior, not only in seed but also in livestock.  There are continual references to adverse price effects and limitations in choice for consumers and producers alike, followed by such tagged-on qualifiers as “if there are any”. The implication is that there is good reason to believe such effects exist and simply have yet to be discovered if we look.

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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 one who had been sued by Monsanto) asserted that the move from 70 seed companies to 4 represented a relevant decline in competition.  But he didn’t talk about any relevant effect; he had nothing to offer on declining return on investment–no evidence that the change actually affected his bottom line.

Read the full piece here. 

The morning’s panel of farmers represented a variety of perspectives, ranging from more reasoned to more reactionary.  Among the ideas suggested…

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