TOTM

Easterbrook on False Positives

I recently came across a keynote speech by Frank Easterbrook (published at 52 Emory L.J. 1297 (2003)) where he discusses Type I errors in antitrust cases.  Easterbrook, of course, produced the fundamental insight for antitrust enforcement that competition itself constrained the costs associated with false negatives while false positives were likely to ripple throughout the economy.  The argument is frequently raised that those concerned with false positives overestimate both their frequency and impact.

Read the full piece here.