IEP Research

"Biden's Broadband Boondoggle" - Oct. 6, 2021
The infrastructure bill slates tens of billions for rural networks. History suggests most will be wasted.

Thomas W. Hazlett, H.H. Macaulay Endowed Professor in the John E. Walker Department of Economics, is Clemson's connection to the Spectrum Innovation Initiative, a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that could be used to launch SpectrumX – The National Center for Spectrum Innovation. – Dec. 9, 2020

"Commentary: The best way for the FCC to enable a 5G future" - Jan. 22, 2018
Fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks promise to blow away existing 4G connections. According to the U.S. government, the new systems will deliver 1,000 times more traffic, with far superior reliability and faster response times.

"The net neutrality farce: From the start, the concept has been based on a flawed foundation" - Nov. 27, 2017
For the sixth time in the last decade, U.S. rules on "network neutrality" are set to flip.

"Is Net Neutrality Necessary to Keep the Internet Free?" - Nov. 1, 2017
Thomas Hazlett of Clemson University debates Ryan Cough of Public Knowledge on whether broadband networks should be regulated by common carrier rules. Federal policymakers have been going back and forth on the issue for over a decade. Who's right? You be the judge.

"How Politics Stalls Wireless Innovation" - Oct. 1, 2017
The FCC unveiled its National Broadband Plan in 2010 - but couldn't stick to it.

"Sinclair and 'Big Media': The Outrage that Caused the Outrage" - Aug. 7, 2017
A bitter controversy has engulfed Washington over the "UHF Discount." But it is sound and fury over what are zombie rules governing phantom markets.

"FCC and the Internet: In Search of Bandwidth" - July 8, 2017
The Radio Act of 1927, the brainchild of then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover, created a regulatory regime for carefully parceling out airwaves according to a "public interest" standard. It was said to be necessary to prevent chaos - "etheric bedlam."

"Thank Goodness Apple's iPhone Violated 'Net Neutrality' in 2007" - June 29, 2017
Ten years ago this week the Apple iPhone, described by Steve Jobs as a "revolutionary product" that "changes everything," went on sale for the first time. A million flew off the shelves in just ten weeks and a decade later - with more than a billion sold worldwide - the iPhone has transformed the way we live, work and do business.

"A Short History of Radio Explains the iPhone's Success" - June 29, 2017
The iPhone roared into the marketplace 10 years ago today and overwhelmed the wireless world. The smartphone's iconic social significance has been duly noted. What has escaped attention is that the device burst into a sector long insulated from the slightest threat of disruptive innovation. The iPhone's victorious attack followed - and required - a long arc of liberalization in airwaves, itself a stunning regulatory and marketplace triumph. Here's why the iPhone was able to succeed.

Washington Post on "a remarkable new book by Clemson University economist Thomas Hazlett." - June 22, 2017
The Federal Communications Commission, once a sleepy regulatory backwater, has become a deeply political agency, governed less by the science of radio waves than by pressure from inside-the-Beltway groups. If nothing else, the decade-long debate over net neutrality, reignited this year by Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal to undo a 2015 decision to turn Internet service providers into public utilities, makes that clear enough. How did we get here? The answer, according to "The Political Spectrum" (Yale University Press 2017), a remarkable new book by Clemson University economist Thomas Hazlett, is that the agency began life with a political agenda, one that continues to override its technical experts.

"FCC 'Incentive Auction' marks progress and pitfalls towards freeing wireless spectrum" - May 24, 2017
In February 2009, the Federal Communications Commission began to draft a National Broadband Plan (NBP). Published in March 2010, the study asked how policymakers might improve broadband in the U.S.

"United Airlines' 'Re-Accommodation' Could Have So Easily Been Avoided" - May 23, 2017
United's passenger "re-accommodation" debacle was so easy to avoid. An auction would discover which passengers would be eager to step aside. United did dangle $800 in-flight credits for seats, but that price was wrong.

"From FM to the Smartphone: The Evolution of Radio Media" - May 10, 2017
The Age of Wireless has triggered excitement, disruption, and challenge. Debates rage on about the value of social media, how to deal with the threat of cyber hacking and the regulation of emerging networks. But beneath it all lies a hardened policy structure that doles out radio spectrum rights.

"A New Book Proves That In Wireless The Government Is Never There To Help" - May 5, 2017
You may or may not be looking for a book full of historical nuggets on the inventors, innovators, regulators and politicians involved in all facets of the wireless telecom industry over its one hundred-plus-year existence, but you should be. Thomas Hazlett's "The Political Spectrum: The Tumultuous Liberation of Wireless Technology, from Herbert Hoover to the Smartphone" (Yale University Press, 2017) is a perfect blend of economic insight, historical anecdotes and lessons that present and future regulators in any industry can use to benefit citizens and society rather than being guided by their own aims, biases or fears.

"Valuing Spectrum Allocations" - March 20, 2017
Abstract observing trends in which Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have become widely popular. Some argue that unlicensed allocations hosting such wireless technologies are increasingly valuable and that administrative spectrum allocations should shift accordingly.

"Herbert Hoover's Radio Malware Turns 90" - Feb. 24, 2017
On February 23, 1927, Babe Ruth had still to hit 60 home runs in a season. Yet, President Calvin Coolidge would that day sign a bill that would establish how radio spectrum - the "economic oxygen" of the emerging information age - would still be governed 90 years later.

"Understanding the Disruptive Innovation Wrought by Computers and the Internet: A Review" - Sept. 12, 2016
Thomas Hazlett recently reviewed two new volumes on the Information Economy for the International Journal of Economics of Business. Both Martin Campbell-Kelly and Daniel D. Garcia-Swartz, "From mainframes to smartphones: A history of the international computer industry" (Harvard University Press, 2015), and Shane Greenstein, "How the Internet became commercial: Innovation, privatization, and the birth of a new network" (Princeton University Press, 2015), offer important histories - and abundant insights - into today's tech economy.

"Obama's misguided plan to connect schools to the Internet" - Aug. 30, 2016
Even during times of political gridlock, connecting schools to the Internet has always received bipartisan support. Politicians ranging from Bill Clinton to Newt Gingrich have endorsed the concept, and the federal government has funneled billions of dollars annually to boost Internet access for students under a twenty-year-old policy called "E-Rate."

"Time for the Supremes to Decide 'Net Neutrality'" - June 24, 2016
The FCC's dramatic 2015 pivot on Internet regulation sought to envelope advanced broadband networks in the shroud of telephone company rules rolled out in the Mann Elkins Act of 1910. These historic common carriage "Title II" regulations - originally the province of the Interstate Commerce Commission, long ago antiquated and finally abolished in 1995 - were cited as exemplars by the Commission in last year's Open Internet Order.

"Patients dying because of FDA inflexibility" - May 26, 2016
On May 26, the Food and Drug Administration will decide whether to approve eteplirsen, a therapy for Duchenne multiple dystrophy (DMD), on a fast-track basis. The drug, made by Sarepta Therapeutics, is the first for this brutal disease, which strikes about 500 boys annually in the U.S. It shows up before the age of five, putting kids in wheelchairs by their teens and ending tragically in premature death. An advisory panel in April voted against approval of the medicine, 7-6. At the hearing, parents of boys afflicted by DMD became hysterical. They pleaded for the majority to reverse course and let their children try the medication.

FTC's Joshua Wright Lectures at Clemson on April 2 - April 2, 2015
Federal Trade Commissioner Joshua D. Wright presented a Big Ideas About Information lecture on April 2, 2015, at Clemson University. Sponsored by the Information Economy Project and the John E. Walker Department of Economics, Commissioner Wright spoke on Regulation in High-Tech Markets: Public Choice, Regulatory Capture, and the FTC.

"What principles of governance does spectrum policy need?" - Feb. 15, 2015
What lessons can be learned for spectrum policy from the management of other natural resources? Here, an expert on resource management says good governance depends on a transparent, rules-based approach that will minimize regulatory uncertainty. This stability is key to encouraging the necessary investment in networks.

"Speed kills, but spectrum bureaucracy failed to apply the brakes" - Nov. 12, 2014
The tragic derailment of Amtrak Northeast Regional train #188, killing at least eight passengers in May, would likely have been prevented by a technology mandated by a 2008 law. Alas, the safety system, called Positive Train Control (PTC), has faced delays. Amtrak has tried to shift the blame to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), claiming that the FCC refused to allocate the spectrum it sought.

"How to Neuter the Net Revolution" - Nov. 11, 2014
In February 2009, the Federal Communications Commission began to draft a National Broadband Plan (NBP). Published in March 2010, the study asked how policymakers might improve broadband in the U.S.

"The Rationality of U.S. Regulation of the Broadcast Spectrum in the 1934 Communications Act" - Aug. 27, 2014
On the 80^th anniversary of the Communications Act, the November 2014 issue of The Review of Industrial Organization looks back at the landmark legislation and ahead to the future of broadcast regulation.

Hazlett and Wright Pen Wall Street Journal Op-Ed on FCC Over-Management of the Internet - July 13, 2014
Joshua Wright, IEP Scholar on leave and current FTC Commissioner joined Thomas Hazlett to write an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal titled "Micromanaging the Web Would Be a Macro Mistake." The Op-Ed warns of the issues that arise when the FCC attempts to over-manage internet regulations, such as net neutrality.

Hazlett, Oh, and Skorup on the Effects of Prohibiting Handset Bundling in Finland and Belgium - May 23, 2014
Thomas Hazlett joined IEP Scholars Sarah Oh and Brent Skorup in authoring a paper studying the effects of laws passed in Finland and Belgium prohibiting the bundling of cell phones with 3G wireless broadband plans.

"Efficient Spectrum Reallocation with Hold-Ups and Without Nirvana" - May 22, 2014
In 2010, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determined that up to 20 television channels should be shifted to mobile services. If successful, the reform could generate over $1 trillion in social gains. To achieve these efficiencies, regulators rejected traditional tools, which would have terminated existing wireless licenses, as too contentious. Instead, they chose to create a two-sided auction in which incumbent TV licensees state their offer prices to exit (broadcasting), being paid from the winning bids for mobile licenses (granted access to the reallocated TV spectrum).

Hazlett and Wallsten write Op-Ed on USF in The Hill - April 1, 2014
Thomas Hazlett and Scott Wallsten, a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, wrote an op-ed published on TheHill.com. The piece, entitled "Taking From the poor and giving to the ConnectED," criticizes the FCC's high cost and low reward spending on the Universal Service Fund.

Federalist Society's Engage Magazine: Hazlett Weighs in on Spectrum Crisis - July 10, 2013

Skorup on the Efficient Use of Federal Spectrum - June 12, 2013
IEP's Brent Skorup has recently published a paper through George Mason's Mercatus Center that examines proposals for reallocating spectrum held by the federal government for use in mobile broadband networks. Considering the quickly increasing popularity of mobile broadband services, the efficient transfer of spectrum to the private market has wide implications for the information economy.

Thierer and Skorup on Tim Wu's Separations Principle - April 30, 2013
IEP's Brent Skorup and Adam Thierer, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, have published a law review article on vertical integration in the information economy in the Federal Communications Law Journal.

Hazlett and Skorup on LightSquared and Spectrum Rights - April 26, 2013
Hazlett and Skorup describe how the FCC's rights assignment process caused the GPS-LightSquared conflict, resulting in LightSquared's 2012 bankruptcy. The authors outline how spectrum rights definition can avoid similar conflicts in the future.

"The Law and Economics of Network Neutrality" - Dec. 6, 2012
This Paper critiques the FCC's net neutrality (NN) policy - specifically, the no-blocking and no unreasonable discrimination rules. After a short legal analysis evaluating the likelihood that the FCC's rules are likely to be declared beyond the scope of the agency's charter in Part I, the Paper focuses on the economic impact of net neutrality regulations. In Part II, the Paper explains the regulatory status of the Internet.

"Regulating Broadband Networks: Assessing the Global Data for Evidence-Based Policy" - Oct. 5, 2012
An examination of the historical context suggests that comparative analysis of the development of the New Zealand and United States industries over the past thirty years, and the more recent experiences of the past thirteen years as New Zealand has pursued industry policies with those firstly of Europe and latterly Korea and Japan, is informative for policymakers and practitioners in both countries.

"Exactitude in Defining Rights: Radio Spectrum and the 'Harmful Interference' Conundrum" - Aug. 30, 2012
In the century since the Radio Act of 1912 initiated U.S. spectrum allocation rules, a precise definition of "harmful interference" - the control of which forms the rationale for regulation - has eluded policymakers. In one sense, that result is unsurprising; rights are always defined incompletely. In another sense, however, the regulatory system is dysfunctional, severely limiting the productive use of spectrum while locked down in years-long border disputes.

"What Really Matters in Spectrum Allocation Design" - Nov. 17, 2011
Wireless license auctions have successfully replaced "beauty contests" in many countries. Competitive bidding (1) puts spectrum rights in the hands of the most productive firms; (2) reduces rent-seeking costs; and (3) captures license values for the public, potentially reducing costly tax distortions. Economists and policymakers have asymmetrically focused on (3). Yet, the overwhelming consumer welfare gains are produced in output (retail services) markets, not by extracting revenues from the sale of spectrum inputs. This fact leads to powerful policy implications, supporting liberal policies that permit market rivals to (quickly) access abundant bandwidth.

"Policy-Induced Competition: The Case of Cable TV Set-Top Boxes" - Nov. 1, 2011
"...This failure is, in less glossy reports, the assessment of the FCC itself." In the Commission's words, the CableCARD technology developed to facilitate modular conformity of competing devices has "failed to stimulate a competitive retail market for set-top boxes."

"FCC Regulation Versus Antitrust: How Net Neutrality is Defining the Boundaries" - Nov. 1, 2011
This Article challenges the various jurisdictional theories that underpin the FCC's net neutrality regulation. The assertion of jurisdiction by the FCC over any aspect of the Internet ecosystem has raised populist, congressional, and even judicial rhetoric to a crescendo and resulted in a recent vote to defund the FCC's efforts.

"The Case for Liberal Spectrum Licenses: A Technical and Economic Perspective" - Sept. 19, 2011
The traditional system of radio spectrum allocation has inefficiently restricted wireless services. Alternatively, liberal licenses ceding de facto spectrum ownership rights yield incentives for operators to maximize airwave value. These authorizations have been widely used for mobile services in the U.S. and internationally, leading to the development of highly productive services and waves of innovation in technology, applications and business models. Serious challenges to the efficacy of such a spectrum regime have arisen, however.

"Exclusion Principles and Receiver Boundaries on Spectrum Resources" - Aug. 15, 2011
This article will discuss exclusion principles for old receivers that occupy spectrum resources. Asymmetric interference in old receivers and the costs of receiver design are two key factors in the analysis.

"If Search Neutrality is the Answer, What's the Question?" - April 12, 2011
In recent months a veritable legal and policy frenzy has erupted around Google generally, and more specifically concerning how its search activities should be regulated by government authorities around the world in the name of ensuring "search neutrality."

"Market Power in U.S. Broadband Services" - March 1, 2011
The U.S. telecommunications industry has come under scrutiny amid concerns that regulatory policies have been too permissive. These concerns are perhaps most prominent in the residential broadband market where there is a perception that the "duopoly" between telephone carriers (DSL suppliers) and cable TV operators (cable modem services) has given rise to anti-competitive behavior.

"Does Antitrust Enforcement in High Tech Markets Benefit Consumers? Stock Price Evidence from FTC v. Intel" - Jan.13, 2011
Antitrust enforcement efforts in the United States and abroad have been ramped up in high-tech industries, rekindling stale and largely unresolved debates concerning the appropriate role of antitrust enforcement in high-tech markets.

"Why There is Too Little, Not Too Much, Private Property" - Jan. 1, 2011
The topic of this conference is Michael Heller's provocative new book on The Gridlock Economy. The central thesis of the book is that one critical obstacle to overall social advancement is the fragmentation of property among private owners that prevents its coherent assembly for projects that are desired by all but achievable by none.

Articles from Tragedies of the Gridlock Economy Conference - January 01, 2011

Conference Articles and Abstracts:

"Heller's Gridlock Economy In Perspective" by Richard A. Epstein, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 51 (2011), October 2, 2009. "The topic of this conference is Michael Heller's provocative new book on The Gridlock Economy. The central thesis of the book is that one critical obstacle to overall social advancement is the fragmentation of property among private owners that prevents its coherent assembly for projects that are desired by all but achievable by none. There is no question that, more than anyone else, Heller has put this topic on the map in its current form, chiefly through two earlier academic articles which have had immense influence on the field. The ability to introduce into the mature field of law and economics even a single new generative term, the anticommons on which Gridlock is based, is a major intellectual achievement..."

"Exclusion and Exclusivity in Gridlock" by Eric R. Claeys, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 9 (2011). "Michael Heller earned respect among property scholars in his 1998 article The Tragedy of the Anticommons: Property in the Transition from Marx to Markets. The conception of a "tragedy of the commons" had been popularized by Garrett Hardin in a 1968 article by that name. When ranchers have open access (a commons) to grass, their cattle tend to overeat it (the tragedy). Harold Demsetz provided the canonical economic response to tragedies of the commons: private property. Exclusive rights of control, use, and disposition ("exclusive possessory rights") encourage owners to internalize externalities associated with the over-consumption of resources held in common..."

Spectrum Policy:

"Tragedy T.V.: Rights Fragmentation and the Junk Band Problem" by Thomas W. Hazlett, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 83 (2011), October 2, 2009. "Tragedy of the anti-commons occurs when property rules fail to enable efficient social coordination. In radio spectrum, rights issued to airwave users have traditionally been severely truncated, leaving gains from trade unexploited. The social losses that Ronald Coase (1959) asserted, appealing to basic theories of resource allocation, are now revealed via intense under-utilization of the TV Band..."

"The Wasteland: Anticommons, White Spaces, and the Fallacy of Spectrum" by Kevin Werbach, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 213 (2011), October 2, 2009. "I urge you, I urge you to put the people's airwaves to the service of the people and the cause of freedom. You must help prepare a generation for great decisions. You must help a great nation fulfill its future. Do this! I pledge you our help."¹ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Newton Minow's 1961 address to the National Association of Broadcasters is legendary for its caustic dismissal of television as a "vast wasteland."² Yet Minow intended to emphasize a different two-word phrase: "public interest."³ Television was the most prominent use of "the people's airwaves" - the government-defined capacity for wireless communication - and it was failing to serve national interests.⁴

Google Book Search:

"Google Book Search in the Gridlock Economy" by Doug Lichtman, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 131 (2011), October 2, 2009. "Michael Heller's Gridlock Economy popularizes a concept that Heller has developed over nearly two decades of influential academic writing: the notion that, when it comes to property rights, too many rights-endowed cooks really can spoil the broth. I was asked in this conference to apply Heller's insight to the Google Book Search project, and the request at first seemed natural. Heller himself has suggested that Google Book Search might be an apt poster child for the gridlock phenomenon; and Google likewise can often be heard to complain, in Heller-esque tones, that the only way to build a comprehensive search engine for books is to take the books without asking..."

"Autonomy and Independence: The Normative Face of Transaction Costs" by Robert P. Merges, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 145 (2011), October 2, 2009. "Anticommons theory made a splash and is today being expanded and applied because it shifted our collective attention in a crucial way. Before the 1990s, the big policy questions in IP were all about individual IP rights: when should a copyright or patent be granted, when denied? Anticommons theory burst into this conventional conversation like an unruly drunk at a ballet recital. It demanded attention. It said, in effect, "you may mean well, but you're missing the big point. You're wasting your time!" The big point is not the individual grant of an IP right. It's the aggregate impact of granting many rights to many discrete and independent right-holders..."

Luncheon Keynote:

"On Being Misled by Transaction Cost Economics: Externalities, Commons, and Gridlocks" by Harold Demsetz, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 1 (2011), October 2, 2009. "During the last half-century transaction cost became a prominent consideration in discussions about externalities and ownership arrangements. The author of this essay contributed to this development in the earlier part of this half-century but has since come to doubt the importance of transaction cost and even the roles it is thought to play in these two areas of economic thought. A succinct statement of this doubt as it pertains to the externality problem is a primary task of this essay. The last part of the essay questions the dominant position given to transaction cost in discussions of ownership forms that now go by the names of commons, anti-commons, and gridlocks..."

Patent Reform:

"The Rise and Fall of the First Patent Thicket: The Sewing Machine War of the 1850's" by Adam Mossoff, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 165 (2011), March 2010. "After Professor Michael Heller proposed that excessively fragmented property rights in land can frustrate its commercial development, patent scholars have debated vigorously whether Heller's anticommons theory applies to property rights in inventions. Do these "patent thickets" exist, and if so, what are the best solutions? This article contributes to this debate by analyzing the rise and fall of the first American patent thicket: the "Sewing Machine War" of the 1850s..."

"Self-Regulation: How Wikipedia Leverages User-Generated Quality Control Under Section 230" - March 31, 2010
As Virginia Woolf once wrote, "[T]o enjoy freedom, we have...to control ourselves." In the market for online information services, Wikipedia has done just that. Wikipedia has achieved astounding success via self-regulation.

"Regulating Communications: Stories from the First Hundred Years" - March 15, 2010
This year we celebrate a century of electronic communications regulation. Well, maybe "celebrate" isn't the right word. Critics of regulation will say that "lamentations" are the correct sentiment.

"Patent Holdup, Antitrust and Innovation: Harness or Noose?" - May 8, 2009
This essay reviews Michael Carrier's analysis of antitrust and standard-setting in his new book Innovation for the 21st Century: Harnessing the Power of Intellectual Property and Antitrust Law.

"Federalism, Substantive Preemption, and Limits on Antitrust: An Application to Patent Holdup" - March 2, 2009
In Credit Suisse v. Billing, the Court held that the securities law implicitly precludes the application of the antitrust laws to the conduct alleged in that case. The Court considered several factors, including the availability and competence of other laws to regulate unwanted behavior, and the potential that application of the antitrust laws would result in "unusually serious mistakes." This paper examines whether similar considerations suggest restraint when applying the antitrust laws to conduct that is normally regulated by state and other federal laws. In particular, we examine the use of the antitrust laws to regulate the problem of patent holdup of members of standard-setting organizations.

"Why the Supreme Court was Correct to Deny Certiorari in FTC v. Rambus" - Feb. 26, 2009
In November 2008, the Federal Trade Commission petitioned the Supreme Court to review the D.C. Circuit's decision in FTC v. Rambus. That decision reversed the Commission's finding that Rambus knowingly failed to disclose a patent to a standard-setting organization and, in so doing, acquired monopoly power in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act. In February 2009, the Supreme Court denied the Commission's petition. This article examines some deficiencies in the Commission's arguments, concluding ultimately that the Supreme Court was correct to deny review. Moreover, the article suggests that the patent holdup problem, and ex-post opportunism generally, is more effectively handled by contract and patent law.

"Technological Change and Merger Policy's Third Era" - Sept.1, 2008
Changes in Merger Policy Over the Last Century. Evolutionary Changes: Antimonopoly Era (1904-1973), Consumer Welfare Era (1973-2004), Dynamic Efficiency Era (2004).

"Sky Wars: The Attempted Merger of Dish/DirecTV" - Sept. 1, 2008
A High Tech Merger? Relatively new product: High Power Direct Broadcast Satellite TV. DirecTV launched 1994. EchoStar/Dish launched 1996. Large claimed efficiencies. Platform issues. Incompatible encryption formats. Dynamic platform competition. Installed base pricing incentives. Analytical Approach: a roughly similar approach by parties and DOJ. Focus on substitution (diversion) rather than market definition. Some consideration of installed base pricing incentives. Some consideration of platform competition. Otherwise, not very different from merger analysis for low-tech markets.

"Nice Theory But Where's The Evidence: The Use of Economic Evidence to Evaluate Vertical and Conglomerate Mergers in the US and EU" - Sept.1, 2008
Brief description of primary vertical theories of potential competitive concern from a merger. Input foreclosure. Customer foreclosure. Elements for a vertical theory to be plausible. Ability to foreclose. Incentive to foreclose. Foreclosure is likely to harm competition. Efficiencies do not offset. Evidence related to each element.

"Market Definition in Online Markets" - Sept. 1, 2008
Although the basic principles used to define a relevant market or to analyze unilateral competitive effects in traditional retail settings also apply in online retail markets, several features of the online environment add complexities to the analysis. This paper examines some of the results in the economics and marketing literature that can influence market definition and competitive effects analysis in online retail settings. I argue that a failure to account properly for certain aspects of online markets can lead to erroneous definitions of the relevant market and, more importantly, erroneous conclusions regarding the unilateral competitive effects of horizontal mergers.

"Horizontal Mergers Among IP Licensors and IP Licensees" - Sept. 1, 2008

"Evaluating Market Power with Two-Sided Demand and Preemptive Offers to Dissipate Monopoly Rent: Lessons for High-Technology Industries from the Antitrust Division's Approval of the XM-Sirius Satellite Radio Merger" - Sept. 1, 2008
Can the standard merger analysis of the Department of Justice's and Federal Trade Commission's Horizontal Merger Guidelines accommodate mergers in high-technology industries? In its April 2007 report to Congress, the Antitrust Modernization Commission (AMC) answered that question in the affirmative.

"Defining the Relevant Product Market for the Google-DoubleClick Merger" - Sept. 1, 2008
In 2007, U.S. advertisers were expected for the first time to spend more on online advertising than on radio advertising. Source: eMarketer. U.S. online advertising revenues in 2007 were roughly $17 billion, an increase of 35 percent over 2005 revenues. Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau.

"Antitrust in Orbit: Some Dynamics of Horizontal Merger Analysis in General and with Respect to XM-Sirius" - Sept. 1, 2008
"Horizontal merger evaluation is heavily reliant on market definition. An SSNIP framework formats the analysis, and demand elasticity evidence used to apply the test is often sparse, as is often found in high-technology industries. This paper examines other sources of evidence that reveal the dynamics of market structure, data that are also probative in the evaluation of competitive effects."

"Property Rights and Wireless License Values" - Aug. 1, 2008
While extending the scope of spectrum property rights promotes efficiency, such reforms are often deterred by equity concerns. Theoretically, however, the windfalls may be negative. Relaxing license restrictions may increase profits by allowing enhanced productivity, yet liberalization across a class of licensees can reduce the expected profits by increasing competitiveness. This article examines license value changes for regimes that decisively shift toward private property rights in radio spectrum by analyzing the average prices paid in international cellular phone license auctions during 1995-2001.

"Wireless Net Neutrality Regulation and the Problem with Pricing: An Empirical, Cautionary Tale" - May 7, 2008
The imposition of network neutrality regulation on the mobile telecommunications market puts consumers at risk of facing higher prices and fewer Internet access options.

"Natural Experiments in U.S. Broadband Regulation" - Jan. 12, 2008
Regulations governing broadband networks are being considered. Natural experiments conducted with respect to "open access" rules yield probative marketplace evidence. Using the metric of subscribership, policy regimes are compared.

"Telecom Competition and the 1996 Act: Reflecting Back and Looking Forward" - Sept. 28, 2006
This talk reflects back on the premises underlying the 1996 Act, its key provisions - especially on network sharing - and the track record. Summarizes briefly some of the lessons and their implications for policy going forward.

"Stepping Stones or Stumbling Blocks? Mandatory Network Sharing in Telecom" - Sept. 28, 2006
From "Opening the Monopoly Bottleneck" to the "Stepping Stone Hypothesis." In many countries, the bottleneck was never a "monopoly" bottleneck, just an expensive one. Unbundling and network sharing are regulatory interventions of last resort where there is not a second, third or fourth network providing access to the same households or establishments.

"Net Neutrality: An Issue By Any Other Name" - Sept. 28, 2006
Outline: Pull is Fundamental; Changing Business Model?; Net Neutrality; The Disagreement; Get Paid?; Questions/Discussion.

"Empirical Evidence on the Effect of Broadband Regulation" - Sept. 28, 2006
Net Neutrality: Market Evidence. Assessing the horribles; Business models developed via unregulated transactions; Unregulated transactions now a threat to those business models; Diagnosis...

"Shedding Tiers for a la Carte? An Economic Analysis of Cable TV Pricing" - Sept. 1, 2006
A new regulatory debate has sprung up around the pricing of TV networks on cable and satellite systems. Many argue that bundling networks on tiers, rather than selling channels individually, is anti-consumer and forces families to purchase programming they don't value and often find offensive. The Federal Communications Commission, after issuing sharply conflicting reports on the subject, is considering measures to enforce a la carte pricing. This paper explains the economics of multi-channel video distribution, showing that network cost conditions dictate reliance on bundling.

"Rivalrous Telecommunications Networks With and Without Mandatory Sharing" - June 1, 2006
The 1996 Telecommunications Act ("1996 Act"), passed with bipartisan support, aimed to overturn the existing regime of regulated monopoly. Competition would be introduced, and regulation would fade away.