Of Broken Windows and Broken Policy
Today the Obama administration announced with great pride that its economic stimulus plan created or saved about 650,000 jobs. “Thank goodness!” reads the subtext. If not for all those new and...
View ArticleDOJ Disconnect: Do we really need a roadshow?
And now for something completely different. Being the only non-lawyer economist in the group seems to warrant such a preface sometimes. Earlier this semester I received a call from a reporter for a...
View ArticleEPA's Legislative End-run Strategy
Apparently the Obama administration is not very confident about getting its environmental climate change agenda passed through Congress. Given a legislative “solution” is off the table, at least for...
View ArticleAnother Mis-step in Reactionary Regulation
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Senators Cantwell and McCain are preparing legislation to reinstate Glass-Steagall-type restrictions to create a “firewall” between commercial and investment...
View ArticleYet More Evidence Against the DOJ's Antitrust Plantings
A couple weeks ago, Geoff wrote concerning the DOJ’s misguided antitrust interest in Monsanto. With that in mind, I was very interested to see today’s announcement that Monsanto’s earnings and gross...
View ArticleThe NFL As A Single Firm?
When I first read Josh’s post of antitrust links below, I thought “Drew Brees? Surely not THAT Drew Brees.” Turns out, it IS that Drew Brees. I was very interested to read the QB’s take on American...
View ArticleCompetition in Agriculture (cross-posted)
Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog is hosting a symposium on Competition in Agriculture. So far today, there are posts by Ron Cass (BU Law), Jeff Harrison (U of Florida Law), and me. Additional...
View ArticleThe Environmental Responsibility of Business? Make Profit!
That’s the punchline of a recent paper by Pierre Desrochers (U Toronto). Pierre has written some interesting papers on a range of topics related to economic development, technological innovation, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heritage Of A Taco
Thanks to Peter Klein over at O&M for bringing attention to this image created by a group of California design students showing the network of suppliers necessary to produce the taco enjoyed at...
View ArticleThe Aggregation Problem [#agworkshop]
As Geoff noted, we’re stationed at the DOJ/USDA workshop to witness the goings on and provide some comments. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack opened this session with a laundry list of...
View ArticleA More "Competitive" Agriculture? [#agworkshop]
The morning’s panel of farmers represented a variety of perspectives, ranging from more reasoned to more reactionary. Among the ideas suggested: More reasoned: Find a balance between food and fuel in...
View ArticleThe Enforcers [#agworkshop] [#dojusda]
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...
View ArticleThe 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...
View ArticleDOJ Stumbling Out Of The Gate On Antitrust In Ag
Wednesday, April 7, J.P. Stadtmueller, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, gave the green light for DOJ’s antitrust case against Dean Foods to move forward. Dean had filed...
View ArticleGetting The Cart Before The Horse Exposes the Horse's Rear
Will someone remind me just why the USDA and DOJ are hosting their little Antitrust in Ag roadshow this year? The Associated Press reports today that the USDA is set to release a new set of regulations...
View ArticleAg Antitrust and the Packers & Stockyards Act
The theme of the newest issue of the CPI Antitrust Chronicle focuses on agriculture and antitrust. The issue includes a paper by yours truly on the difficulties of effectively using the Packers &...
View ArticleCopyright Conundrum
Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to Costco in the case of OMEGA SA v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (541 F. 3d 982 (2008)). At issue is whether the ‘first sale doctrine’...
View ArticleThe (deficit) spender of last resort
Todd posts below about the $26 billion bill before the US House today as a gift to teachers (or perhaps more accurately, teachers unions) and school bureacrats. In reality, only $10 billion of the...
View ArticleFood for thought, but don’t believe the label
“People who read food labels such as the Nutrition Facts Panel, ingredient lists or serving size are more likely to have healthier diets than those who do not read labels, according to a new study...
View ArticleTo Slice or Not To Slice; a Taxing Question
Earlier this week, the WSJ reported on a nuance in the New York state tax code that has come take a bite out of at least one bagel company’s profits, and it illustrates how the complexities of...
View Article
