Blog o’ Blogs October 2014

CPI
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October 2014, Volume 4, Number 10
A tribute to Nobel Prize winner Jean Tirole leads off, then 2 very contrary views on Amazon, the Supreme Court’s look at state action immunity, and a parting shot by Commissioner Almunia. Plus more on Google, monopolies, health-related matters, EU cohesion, fortune-telling, and a hard look at the proliferation of global competition authorities. 
A Tribute to Jean Tirole, Winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Economic Science
As the Academy recognized, there is a central theme in Jean’s work on such a diverse set of topics: “The best regulation or competition policy should … be carefully adapted to every industry’s specific conditions.”
Richard Schmalensee (Global Economics Group)
Amazon’s Monopsony is Not O.K.
Amazon.com, the giant online retailer, has too much power, and it uses that power in ways that hurt America.
Paul Krugman (N.Y. Times)
There’s one huge problem with calls for anti-trust action against Amazon
The simple fact of the matter, however, is that Amazon doesn’t have any kind of monopoly.
Matthew Yglesias (Vox)
The US Supreme Court Hears Arguments in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners
So what is the big deal? If an entity—state or private—can show that state-action immunity doesn’t apply, it can violate the antitrust laws at will. 
Jarod Bona (The Antitrust Attorney Blog)
EU Antitrust Chief Decries ‘Irrational’ Response to Google Probe
“I don’t think antitrust investigations should be part of the conventional political debates.”
Tom Fairless (W.S.J. Law Blog)
Microsoft’s Android Anathema
The latest volley in Microsoft’s tiresome and ironic campaign to bludgeon Google with the same regulatory club once used against Microsoft itself is the company’s effort to foment an Android-related antitrust case in Europe.
Geoffrey Manne (Chillin’ Competition)
Three Cheers for ‘Creative Monopolies’
All Innovators have temporary market dominance. Peter Thiel knows this; so does Antonin Scalia. Too bad most lawyers and economists don’t.
L. Gordon Crovitz (W.S.J.)
Promoting healthy competition in health IT markets
FTC staff, together with our ONC partners, will continue to pay close attention to developments in health IT markets. 
Tara Isa Koslov, Markus Meier, & David Schmidt (FTC’s Competition Matters) 
Antitrust Regulators Taking Aim At Drug Companies’ “Forced Switching”
It is unclear whether “product hopping” violates antitrust law, as courts remain split on the issue.
Rosa Morales (Antitrust Today)
Restrictions by object: duck and elephant hunting with the Court of Justice
In its judgment, the CJEU has provided further clarity on when an agreement has the object of restricting competition.
Matthew O’Regan (Kluwer Competition Law Blog)
Guest Post by Dr. Markus Röhrig on Review of EU Enforcement System
There is clearly scope, and a need, to improve the companies’ rights of defense with respect to dawn raids, and it may also be the right time to strengthen the companies’ protection against self-incrimination.
Robert Connolly (Cartel Capers)
Is Antitrust about the Present or Cloudy Expectations about the Future? A Consideration of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger
Even recognizing that future competitive factors can sometimes correct for monopolistic abuses in the present, legal actions require convincing evidence, which means they must rest on facts and data which are available only for the present.
William Comanor (Competition Academia)
Antitrust Police Proliferate Around the Globe
Merger policing is also a way for some newer jurisdictions to extract fees and concessions from deal makers, some legal observers say.
Brent Kendall (Wall Street Journal)
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