News

In new research, Ricardo Marto finds that the rise of services in the United States explains the rise in firm markups over the last few decades rather than a lack of competition.

A growing number of companies offer artificial intelligence-powered revenue management platforms, which leverage big data and sensitive business information from multiple firms to optimize pricing, output, and other operational decisions for their clients. Over the past 18 months, dozens of antitrust lawsuits have alleged that such platforms facilitate price-fixing among rivals. Barak Orbach explores the strength of the allegations and the antitrust implications of such revenue management platforms.

On March 13, the Ultimate Fighting Championship settled several lawsuits, including Cung Le v. Zuffa, which was scheduled to go to trial in April. The plaintiffs in Cung Le had accused the mixed martial arts organization of several anticompetitive behaviors that led to the suppression of fighter wages. Stephen F. Ross and Gurtej Grewal recount the facts of the case and what the settlement might mean for the industry.

William J. McGee argues that airline deregulation in the United States has not delivered on its promised benefits of lower fares, increased safety, and more competition, but instead has led to industry consolidation, regional inequality, and degradation of passenger rights. McGee proposes a suite of policy recommendations to address these issues, including measures to expand geographic networks, increase airport access, encourage new entrants, simplify pricing, and improve passenger rights, labor, and safety standards.

Environmentally conscious critics of artificial intelligence worry about the massive amounts of energy and fresh water its data centers require. Alessio Terzi writes that in the long term, and with the help of government regulation, the benefits of AI-accelerated innovation will outweigh the short-term environmental costs we now observe.

Meg Leta Jones, Mac Milin Kiran and Cal Newport argue that the introduction of age verification mechanisms in proposed child online safety legislation may unintentionally result in an adults-only internet, as platforms opt to deny access to children rather than implement complex compliance measures. This potential outcome necessitates a fundamental debate about the intended audience of the internet and the balance between protecting children and preserving their rights to access and expression in the digital realm.

The following is an excerpt from the book Digital Empires - The Global Battle to Regulate Technology by Anu Bradford, published by Oxford University Press and reprinted here by permission. Check out today's Stigler Center webinar with Bradford in conversation with Filippo Lancieri about her new book.

Giovanna Massarotto writes that antitrust actions against major technology companies like AT&T, IBM, and Microsoft over the past century, though imperfect, have positively impacted innovation and competition in the computer industry by restricting anticompetitive behavior while allowing breakthrough technologies to flourish through carefully crafted remedies. This stands in contrast with Europe, which has seen less homegrown innovation from its technology companies.

Dylan Gyauch-Lewis writes that efforts by big businesses, including SpaceX, Amazon, and Trader Joe’s, to undermine the National Labor Relations Board rests on poor interpretations of the Constitution but would devastate the American government and economy if successful. 

Texas Instruments’ TI-84 calculator has been the standard graphing calculator for American students for twenty years, despite its high cost and lack of innovation. Barak and Eli Orbach explore how Texas Instruments created its entrenched calculator monopoly and the lessons it offers educators as they grapple with the emerging possibilities of artificial intelligence in the classroom.