The Role of the State

Assessing India’s Ex-Ante Framework for Competition in Digital Markets

Vikas Kathuria evaluates India’s new ex-ante framework to regulate digital markets. He assesses its divergences from Europe’s archetypal Digital Markets Act and the characteristics of India’s political economy that explain these differences.

Should Every Town And Village Have Unfettered Access To The Municipal Bond Market?

Kent Hiteshew and Ivan Ivanov write that the United States municipal bond market suffers from fragmentation, poor liquidity, and inadequate disclosure due to the dominance of small, infrequent issuers who struggle to meet regulatory disclosure requirements. They argue that greater involvement of state-backed municipal bond banks could help address these issues by pooling smaller issuances, reducing borrowing costs, and streamlining disclosure obligations for local governments.

The Role of Economics in Judicial Review

The following is an excerpt from Despoina Mantzari's book, "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence," now out at Oxford University Press.

The Proper Role of Economics in Merger Review: Transcript

The following is a transcript of Eric Posner and Carl Shapiro's debate on the proper role of economics in merger review at the 2024 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference.

Dinner Keynote with Jonathan Kanter and Lina Khan: Transcript

The following is a transcript of Guy Rolnik's conversation with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and Chair Lina Khan at the 2024 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference.

The Battle for the EU’s Economic Soul Excludes European Voters

The upcoming European elections will determine the next European Parliament, but the real competition for the EU's economic future lies in the debate between two competing visions, writes Stefano Feltri. One vision, represented by Emmanuel Macron and Mario Draghi, calls for a radical departure from the EU's traditional approach to prioritize strategic autonomy and industrial policy, while the other, championed by Enrico Letta, argues for strengthening the single market and addressing its shortcomings to shape globalization and ensure security through fair competition.

Banking Consolidation Raises the Costs for Local Governments to Issue New Debt

New research from Renping Li finds that consolidation among investment banks has produced higher underwriting costs for local governments in issuing muni bonds. Importantly, Li says these costs are not offset by efficiency gains and that the result is a deterioration in local government finances.

The Paradox Of Place-Based Policy

The Biden administration's ambitious place-based industrial policy aims to both revitalize struggling regions and bolster America's strategic economic sectors, but these two goals often conflict. Walter Frick writes that while policies that boost economic prospects in distressed areas may not immediately transform them into innovation hubs, they could unlock the potential of future generations and ultimately contribute to the nation's innovative capacity.

Billionaire Blockholders Are Stifling Competition in Corporate America

Much of the focus of recent antitrust scrutiny has been on companies, with very little attention paid to the motivations of the individual managers setting the anticompetitive strategies of their enterprises. Understanding the concrete personal incentives of the billionaire blockholders entrenched at the helm of most of America’s incumbent corporations is critical to devising effective competition, corporate governance, and tax policy fixes to tackle harmful market concentration at the root.

Lower Antitrust Enforcement Reduces Venture Capital Investment and Startup Innovation

In new research, Wentian Zhang finds that a reduction in antitrust enforcement causes venture capitalists to significantly decrease their investments in startups, leading to fewer startups going public and diminished innovation.

Latest news