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Antitrust Exam Question: Do the Major Institutional Investors Have an Antitrust Problem?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that major institutional investors — CalPERS, CalSTRS, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, etc. — have collectively adopted a set of recommended practices that is “rankling” private equity firms. Had I not discussed the article in my Antitrust class, I’d use it as the basis for an exam question. ... Antitrust Exam Question: Do the Major Institutional Investors Have an Antitrust Problem?
"So when you listen to economists, you're listening to amateurs"
So says David Zaring over at the Conglomerate — at least when it comes to the topic of regulation. I don’t buy it. Anyway, here’s the complete quote for context: Economists love to suggest new regulatory structures (or, more often, why they will not work). But, of course, they have no training in regulation, and ... "So when you listen to economists, you're listening to amateurs"
"Like A Rain Dance That Produces No Clouds"
My colleague Tom Hazlett, along with George Bittlingmayer and Arthur Havenner, provides some economic wisdom on why they don’t call it stimulus anymore: Counter to the predictions put forward a year ago by the Administration, when it claimed that “more than 90 percent of the jobs created are likely to be in the private sector,” ... "Like A Rain Dance That Produces No Clouds"
The Market Responds
The final vote hasn’t even been taken to “fix” the omnibus (or ominous) health care “reform” legislation that President Obama signed into law this week, and already the first volley of the market’s response has been sounded. Today’s Wall Street Journal Online reports that “Prices of most Treasury notes and bonds were lower after relatively ... The Market Responds
Maybe We’ll Get Us a Calorie Czar!
Yesterday, Todd predicted that Obamacare will result in greater government involvement in heretofore private decisions that impact health. Since the government is now going to pay (via insurance subsidies) for many more Americans’ health care, it has a much stronger interest in how they live. So do we taxpayers who must pay for the government’s ... Maybe We’ll Get Us a Calorie Czar!
A proposed amendment to our Constitution
Ask any conservative what the problem with America is today, and the answer you will get is government spending. But ask that same conservative, or any conservative for that matter, what to do about it, and the shoulders will inevitably shrug. Politicians, including conservatives, simply cannot be trusted when they get control of the purse ... A proposed amendment to our Constitution
The Case Against the Antitrust Case Against Google
We have just uploaded to SSRN a draft of our article assessing the economics and the law of the antitrust case directed at the core of Google’s business: Its search and search advertising platform. The article is Google and the Limits of Antitrust: The Case Against the Antitrust Case Against Google. This is really the ... The Case Against the Antitrust Case Against Google
Varney's comments from the DOJ/USDA hearings [#dojusda #agworkshop]
The DOJ has posted the transcript from the recent DOJ/USDA hearings on antitrust in agriculture here. I figured our readers might be especially interested in seeing Christine Varney’s comments (especially without having to slog through all 350 pages to find them!). I have bolded some of the most interesting parts of her comments. As a ... Varney's comments from the DOJ/USDA hearings [#dojusda #agworkshop]
The dark side of altruism
Have you ever been tempted to buy a beggar a cup of coffee or a sandwich instead of giving money? If so, you have, like a young Anakin Skywalker, taken your first step to the dark side of altruism. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there too. The reason I offered food instead of (money ... The dark side of altruism
Don’t Like the Texas Board of Education’s Brainwashing? There’s a Simple Solution.
Lots of liberals, such as Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Frank and folks from the Huffington Post and People for the American’s Way’s Right Wing Watch, are all up in arms over the Texas Board of Education’s recent efforts to push Texas’s public school curriculum in a decidedly “conservative” direction. As Todd and Josh noted, ... Don’t Like the Texas Board of Education’s Brainwashing? There’s a Simple Solution.
Politically-Mandated Credit Card Interchange Fees Won’t Create Jobs (But They Will Hurt Consumers and the Economy)
by Geoffrey A. Manne, Joshua D. Wright and Todd J. Zywicki Cross-posted at Business in the Beltway (at Forbes.com) and The Volokh Conspiracy. 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 ... Politically-Mandated Credit Card Interchange Fees Won’t Create Jobs (But They Will Hurt Consumers and the Economy)
Paul M. Bator award
I loath the Oscars, Golden Globes, and other award shows. Is there anything worse than a bunch of self-important blowhards congratulating themselves and blathering about how they are what makes the world a place worth living? Well, perhaps, a bunch of conservative students and law professors doing the same thing might be worse. So I ... Paul M. Bator award
