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Should the US Banking Crisis of 2023 Be a Footnote?

The 2023 banking crisis that took down four banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, by all appearances appears to have been resolved by public intervention. Yet, Viral Acharya and Raghuram Rajan argue, this leaves many of the underlying weaknesses that contributed to the bank failures unaddressed. Moreover, while the authorities’ temporary fixes have stopped the panic, the system will have to absorb more unrecognized losses over time.

Who Will Enforce AI’s Social Purpose?

Elon Musk recently sued OpenAI over claims that the company has strayed from its social mission and has instead focused on profit maximization. Roberto Tallarita examines how Musk’s lawsuit shows well-intentioned corporate planners how hard it is to commit to an effective and enforceable social purpose and warns policymakers that relying on corporate self-regulation of AI could be a fatal mistake.

The Not So Free Marketplace of Ideas

ProMarket student editor Surya Gowda reviews Jeff Kosseff’s arguments for protecting the free marketplace of ideas despite the harms of misinformation in his new book “Liar in a Crowded Theater: Freedom of Speech in a World of Misinformation.”

The FTC’s Proposed Ban on Noncompetes Could Raise Wages by Four Percent

Nearly one in five American workers are affected by noncompete agreements, which prevent workers from working for or creating a rival firm. In new research, Axel Gottfries and Gregor Jarosch estimate that the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed noncompete ban could raise wages by 4%.

The Antitrust Agencies’ Focus on Monopolization Claims Against Big Tech Dilutes the Meaning of Monopoly

The various antitrust complaints the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have brought against Google, Amazon, and Facebook are based on monopolization claims under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Herbert Hovenkamp explains why the government should also  have relied on Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act to support their Big Tech cases.

Rent-Seeking Alone Does Not Explain Why Wealthy Families Run for Office

From the Kennedy family to Chile's Matte family, powerful and wealthy families often seek political office. New research by Patricio Duran, Marcelo Ortiz, and Michael Carney seek to understand what those politically active families have in common and discuss potential motivations.

Management Studies Offers Antitrust a More Sophisticated Picture of Firm Behavior

Neoclassical economics, which places the rational and well-informed actor maximizing utility at its foundation, underpins the dominant schools of thought on firm behavior in antitrust. Although neoclassical economics assumes that firms maximize profit, it has little to say on the actual decision-making processes within firms that drive firm conduct. In part, this is because neoclassical economists view the firm as a “black box,” whose decision-making behavior is too idiosyncratic or obscure to link to output and performance. At the same time, neoclassical assumptions about firm rationality and profit maximization mean that whatever these idiosyncratic behaviors of the individual firm may be, they are designed to maximize profit and returns to owners. Thus, firm decisions can be presumed to be rational.

Tax Audits Deter Tax Avoidance But Not Without Costs to Firm Performance and Local Economies

In new research, Ga-Young Choi and Alex Kim show that tax audits work to deter firm tax avoidance, but with unintended costs for investment and employment for the firm and the broader economy.

Do Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions Hurt Workers?

Competition authorities and analysts are increasingly focused on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on worker welfare. Using a novel dataset on Canadian firms and workers, David Arnold, Kevin Milligan, Terry S. Moon and Amirhossein Tavakoli test the empirical validity of several theories on how M&A may help or harm workers.

Why Musk Is Right About OpenAI

Luigi Zingales argues that Elon Musk is right to sue OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, given the economic principles at stake.

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