TOTM

Commissioner Rosch v. Economics, Again

I’ve been critical of the Federal Trade Commission, and particularly Commissioner Rosch, for embracing what I think is a dangerously obsolete view of the role of economics in antitrust. First, it was the Section 2 Report response and before that, it was Commissioner Rosch’s observation that “any kind of economic analyses that require the use of mathematical formulae are of little persuasive value in the courtroom setting” and that “when I see an economic formula my eyes start to glaze over.” To be fair, Commissioner Rosch’s point is that sophisticated economic evidence is not persuasive to courts and that the FTC ought to focus on non-economic evidence that is, we are told, more effective.

Read the full piece here.