Authored by Bruce H. Kobayashi
News
FTC should return to bipartisan consensus deemphasizing Robinson-Patman enforcement in competition policy
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under two consecutive administrations is reviving enforcement of a 1930s law that was dormant for decades after a bipartisan consensus…
Former FTC Policymakers Find FTC Complaint Against Illumina-GRAIL Merger Lacking in New CEI Paper
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new paper today by former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Timothy J. Muris and former director…
Op-Eds/Articles
Barrons
A Key FTC Case Goes Down the Regulatory Rabbit Hole
As imagined in Lewis Carroll’s classic, having gone down the rabbit hole, a bewildered Alice learns from the Cheshire Cat that, if you don’t know…
Studies
Stop Making Sense: Reviving the Robinson-Patman Act and the Economics of Intermediate Price Discrimination
I. Introduction Early in the 20th century, a new model for retail sales arose: chain stores. One chain, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), became America’s largest retailer during 40…
Turning Back the Clock: Structural Presumptions in Merger Analyses and Revised Merger Guidelines
Introduction Since 1950, when Congress closed a loophole in Section 7 of the Clayton Act,[1] the federal antitrust agencies have investigated actively, and prosecuted diligently, mergers the government…
Screening Out Innovation
Executive Summary This report addresses the appropriate antitrust standards for vertical mergers. It first provides an overview, and then analyzes a specific application to the Federal Trade Commission’s…
Citations
Politico
Three names Biden is circling for Fed Vice Chair
ON BLAST — Former FTC Chair Timothy Muris and Bruce Kobayashi, who served as director of the commission’s bureau of economics during the Trump administration, are…