In this issue:
We certainly lived in interesting times in 2011. Before the year fades away in the anticipation of even more excitement to come, we once again present a dozen of our most read articles of 2012, chosen not only for their popularity but for their variety. And we certainly want to take this opportunity to to thank everyone that participated in the CPI community this year—from our editorial board, to our authors, and, most especially, our subscribers. May you all have a Prosperous and Joyous New Year!
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A Dozen of Our Best
The New EU Competition Rules for the Assessment of Horizontal Agreements, II
…the Commission has also taken the opportunity to tighten the rules in a number of important respects. Paul Lugard
Price Theory and Merger Guidelines, II
Our work extends existing first-order approaches to merger analysis to provide quantitative estimates of price and consumer surplus changes. Sonia Jaffe & E. Glen Weyl (Harvard Univ.)
Use and Misuse of Empirical Methods in the Economics of Antitrust, II
Discussing some of the theoretical and empirical strengths and weaknesses of the approaches to antitrust analysis, including a critique of some of the recent methods. Dennis Carlton (Univ. of Chicago)
DOJ’s Attempt to Block the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Places the Horizontal Merger Guidelines on Trial, II
If merger enforcement can ever be equated with high drama, this is such a time. Benjamin D. Brown (Cohen Milstein)
The Regulation of Interchange Fees by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board: A Primer on Economic Principles, II
Our analysis has important implications for banking regulators and competition authorities around the world that are looking into interchange fees for debit and credit cards. David S. Evans (Univ. of Chicago, UCL), Robert E. Litan (Kaufmann Foundation), & Richard Schmalensee (MIT).
Payment Card Regulation and the Use of Economic Analysis in Antitrust
Regarding regulated fees, some broadly contemplated regulatory methodologies bear only limited resemblance with economically sound precepts. Jean Tirole (Univ. of Toulouse)
The New Indian Merger Control: Key Procedural Issues, II
India should be at the top of the list of priority jurisdictions for every transaction involving any company with significant activities in India. Simon Baxter & Nikolaos Peristerakis (Skadden, Arps)
The Intersection of Consumer Protection and Competition in the New World of Privacy, II
How should the FTC balance the consumer protection concerns arising in the context of privacy with competition issues? Julie Brill (FTC)
A Presentation on Market Definition, II
Market definition is the first step in the assessment of market power. Richard Schmalensee (MIT)
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes: Supreme Court Clarifies Commonality Analysis for Class Actions and Rejects Use of Injunctive Relief as Hook to Certify Damages Class, II
The Supreme Court’s decision sets relatively clear limits on aspects of class certification that had become indistinct and thus improperly permissive. Donald M. Falk, Archis A. Parasharami, & Marcia E. Goodman (Mayer Brown)
Cartel Detection and Duration Worldwide, II
The consensus among experienced antitrust lawyers and from abstruse economic studies is that the great majority of cartels operate clandestinely their entire lives. John Connor (Purdue Univ.)
Practical Aspects of Aftermarkets in European Competition Law
Genuine cases of dominance, and therefore of possible abuse of dominance, are not likely to arise in those aftermarkets either in EU or in U.S. law unless the company in question is dominant in the primary market. John Temple Lang (Cleary Gottlieb, Trinity College)
