We use a natural experiment to perform the first empirical analysis of the widely-claimed effect of no-poaching clauses on job-market concentration and wages. In 2018, the Washington State Attorney General obtained agreements from dozens of quick-service restaurant brands, encompassing thousands...

Contractual restrictions on mobility of workers across units within a franchise – “no-poaching” clauses – have recently attracted attention. The restrictions are claimed to concentrate labor markets to the detriment of employees. Previous research has found that they do. However,...

We analyze the one-month U.S. Dollar London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) between January 1987 and February 2015 to determine whether there are signs of manipulation based on a previously published test that has appeared in a peer reviewed economics journal and been cited in the business press...

Business Data Services (BDS), formerly called special access services, are dedicated broadband lines offered by network providers to business customers and network providers. In a packet-based broadband network, the distinction between customer and competitor is being blurred, and with it the...

This article describes recent regulatory developments for business data services. This is a huge market estimated to be between $45- and $75 billion, dominated by a few thousand sophisticated customers that purchase very reliable private communication networks. Business data customers, for...

Dear Chairman Wheeler: Congratulations on your confirmation as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. As economists who study and write about communications policy and regulation, we agree with your comment during your confirmation hearing that “the role of the FCC has evolved from...

The year 2005 began with the announcements that the two leading long-distance carriers — AT&T and MCI — were being acquired by two of the four major incumbent local exchange carriers — SBC and Verizon — and ended with regulatory approval virtually completed. Shortly thereafter, the new...

This paper addresses the fundamental question of what costs and prices would look like under competitive conditions and how close the FCC's total element long-run incremental cost (TELRIC) pricing rules allow one to approximate such competitive outcomes. We consider: what types of firms would...