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An outlet for insiders to speak freely (as they remain anonymous to the reader) on what they perceive as problematic practices in their own industry – with an emphasis on how the industry tweaks the rules of the game and captures regulation. "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice.” Adam Smith - An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)

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Regulatory Capture

Closing the Revolving Door Comes With Trade-offs

Joseph Kalmenovitz, Siddharth Vij, Kairong Xiao
How prolific is the revolving door issue at the federal level? In a new paper, Joseph Kalmenovitz, Siddharth Vij, and Kairong Xiao analyze the prevalence of revolving door behavior in the United States government and discuss the impacts of limiting private sector job prospects for regulators.
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Antitrust and Competition

The Dangers of Google’s Search Trial Secrecy

Erin Carroll
Erin Carroll writes that the lack of public access to the Google search antitrust trial has resulted in unprecedented secrecy which, she writes, could undermine the public’s trust in the outcome and start a dangerous trend amongst other Big Tech companies facing similar trials. 
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ESG, Corporate Governance & Future of the Firm

CEOs Have Real Incentives To Promote ESG

Michal Barzuza, Quinn Curtis, David Webber
In new research, Michal Barzuza, Quinn Curtis, and David Webber create a framework explaining why CEOs have powerful incentives to promote ESG, why these incentives are distinct from those of shareholders, why they are powerful despite the lack of governance mechanisms, and why they are at times excessive or skewed.
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Commentary

The Intellectual Family Tree of Nobel Winner Claudia Goldin

Robert A. Margo
Robert Margo discusses the influences of his colleague and recent Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin, as well as her influence on other scholars.
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Antitrust and Competition

Four Misconceptions About the Consumer Welfare Standard

Nicolas Petit, Lazar Radic
Nicolas Petit and Lazar Radic refute common critiques of the consumer welfare standard. A second article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different antitrust standards, underscoring some points often ignored by the critics of the consumer welfare standard.
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Regulation

Reducing Corporate Fines Often Penalizes Rather Than Protects the Public

Nathan Atkinson
Government regulators may reduce corporate fines for criminal behavior if the fines threaten the firm’s survival, thus posing harms to employees and society. In a recent paper, Nathan Atkinson explores the frequency with which government regulators reduce fines and evaluates if these reductions are justified or if regulators are undermining their own capabilities to deter bad behavior and fully compensate harmed parties.
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Antitrust and Competition

The Shared Roots of (Neo-)Brandeisianism and Ordoliberalism Suggest How To Regulate Big Tech

Manuel Wörsdörfer
In new research, Manuel Wörsdörfer compares the philosophies of two formative antitrust thinkers writing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States and Europe: Louis D. Brandeis and Walter Eucken. A discussion of their body of thought highlights the antitrust concerns of the time and how their positions can be adapted to today’s regulatory environment, particularly regarding Big Tech.
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Commentary

Claudia Goldin: A Master at Breaking New Ground In Economics by Unearthing Unusual Data

Cecilia Rouse
Cecilia Rouse, a colleague and former student of Claudia Goldin, explains Goldin’s perseverance in unearthing datasets that allowed her to document trends in labor and education, particularly with respect to women. Rouse also praises Goldin’s courage to prioritize the study of women and discusses what it was like to work with the recent Nobel Prize- winning economist on seminal work.
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Culture & Society

Is The Decline In Marriage Causing Less Happiness? 

Brooke Fox
And why happiness research matters for economics. An interview with Sam Peltzman.
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Antitrust and Competition

The Draft Merger Guidelines Risk Reducing Innovation

Ginger Zhe Jin, Mario Leccese, Liad Wagman
The draft Merger Guidelines seek to reduce mergers and acquisitions, especially those that remove potential entrants. However, precluding acquisitions in those settings ignores both what incentivizes startups and investors to take initial risks, as well as the advantages that large incumbents have to parlay acquisitions into further innovation and an array of widely commercialized consumer products. The overall effect may dampen innovation, write Ginger Zhe Jin, Mario Leccese, and Liad Wagman.
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Research

Innovators Respond to Their Presidential Candidate Winning With More Innovation

Joseph Engelberg, Runjing Lu, William Mullins, Richard Townsend
Does an inventor’s political identity influence their productivity? In a new paper, Joseph Engelberg, Runjing Lu, William Mullins, and Richard Townsend examine the impacts of the 2008 and 2016 United States presidential elections on Democrat and Republican inventors, with a particular focus on the quantity and quality of patents after the country elects a new president.
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Antitrust and Competition

Letter to the Editor: Former FTC and DOJ Chief Economists Urge Separation of Economic and Legal Analysis in Merger Guidelines

Letter to the Editor
Seventeen former chief economists of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division urge current Agency heads to separate the legal and economic analysis in the draft Merger Guidelines to strengthen the role of the latter in merger review.
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Antitrust and Competition

Why the Kroger-Albertsons Merger Is a Mess for Consumers

Christine P. Bartholomew
Grocers Kroger and Albertsons want to merge, which would make them the second biggest retail food chain and, according to them, enhance their ability to compete with Walmart and Costco and offer lower prices to consumers. Christine P. Bartholomew writes that the promises of more competition and lower prices for consumers are unlikely to manifest, and thus the Federal Trade Commission should block the deal.  
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Book Excerpts

After Neoliberalism

Martin Daunton
The following is an excerpt from Martin Daunton's new book, "The Economic Government of the World: 1933-2023," out November 14.
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Antitrust and Competition

US Taxpayers Should Not Be Subsidizing Harmful Big Oil Mergers

Niko Lusiani
Chevron and ExxonMobil claim their announced mergers with Hess and Pioneer take advantage of market efficiencies, but a closer look reveals an antiquated tax provision likely sweetening these dangerous deals. Antitrust authorities must carefully review the serious risks entailed in these proposed mergers. In parallel, the United States federal government needs to end large tax-free reorganizations—the most egregious way in which American taxpayers are subsidizing monopolistic practices, writes Niko Lusiani.
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Book Excerpts

Seeing Others

Michèle Lamont
In an excerpt from her new book, Seeing Others, sociologist Michèle Lamont describes the impact of neoliberal ideas on the working class.
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Fiscal Policy

How Well Consumers Know Prices Matters for Tax Policy

Felix Montag, Robin Mamrak, Alina Sagimuldina, Monika Schnitzer
The effectiveness of tax policy depends on whether sellers pass on changes in tax rates to consumers through changes in price. In new research, Felix Montag, Robin Mamrak, Alina Sagimuldina, and Monika Schnitzer investigate how this tax pass-through in turn depends on how much consumers know about prices. They show that if consumers are not aware of how prices for the same product vary between sellers, then they will be unaffected by tax changes intended to increase or decrease consumption.
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ProMarket is dedicated to discussing how competition tends to be subverted by special interests. The posts represent the opinions of their writers, not necessarily those of the University of Chicago, the Booth School of Business, or its faculty. For more information, please visit ProMarket Policy.

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