Interesting post on Microsoft

Here.

The hybrid model for non-profits?

Read here.

Health insurance markets

I'll talk a little bit about this paper tonight, no need to read it, strictly optional. Gated newer version is here.

Today they announced a new antitrust suit against Blue Cross of Michigan.

Vertical control at Amazon

Read here.

New UK ruling on exclusive dealing

The article is here, another (possibly gated) is here.

pdfs

If you have not received them, please let me know...

The British are moving from two antitrust authorities to one

Story here. Excerpt:

Britain’s competition regime is to be revamped in a shake-up under which the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission will merge.

The restructuring of the competition bodies, to reduce costs and speed up investigations, will probably be one of the most contentious cuts to public bodies to be announced on Thursday in the government’s “bonfire of the quangos”.

The government’s plan to merge the OFT and the commission rolls back the long-standing two-tier competition system, reinforced by the Labour government, in favour of the single-body model favoured by many other industrialised countries.

The new body will probe mergers, market dominance and cartels, but it and other competition bodies will probably farm out many consumer functions to Citizens Advice and local trading standards officers.

Big companies have long pressed for faster and less onerous antitrust probes, claiming the overlap between the OFT and the commission is wasteful and confusing.

Another simple problem, practice for the Final

Right now the Euro is rising and the U.S. dollar is falling. Will this affect the price of a Mercedes in a Tysons Corner showroom?

How does your answer depend on your underlying model of market structure?

The Henry Farrell chapters

Part of the assignment is missing from Reserve, fear not we will get it to you, thanks for your patience but do grab what is there.

Strictly optional

A long video lecture on IO, by Glen Weyl, one of the smartest and best new IO economists.

Hold-up problems

Read about them here.

Practice question for the final exam

"Slotting fees" are used when a manufacturer pays to buy shelf space, or buy good shelf space, from a retailer. (It may or may not be per unit, which gives you two different cases to analyze.) Supermarkets are a common example. Right now slotting fees are legal but some commentators have suggested they be banned. Work through the analysis of what would happen if they were banned.