We explain the issues in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC’s) antitrust investigation into whether Google’s use of “Universal” search results violated the antitrust laws and assess the role for economics in the FTC’s decision to close the investigation. We argue that the presence of...

This paper discusses appropriate methodology for measuring the effect of an event on the value of a firm's equity. Th e key points are (1) cumulative abnormal returns do not measure the effect of an event on firm value if there are dividends during the event window; (2) it is generally...

This note explains a practical approach to teaching how a form of the Lerner rule applies even when demand is uncertain. The rule brings out the distinction between the marginal cost of a unit produced and the marginal cost of an expected unit sold, which is a key distinction for properly...

This paper presents a model of bundling and tying when the threat of entry provides the primary competitive constraint, but entrants have a disadvantage with respect to the incumbent, i.e., in a, “nearly contestable,” market. The entrant's disadvantage can be with respect to marginal costs,...

We incorporate marginal cost savings from bundling, fixed costs of productofferings, and variation in customer preferences into a model of bundling and tying. To focus on cost effects, we assume perfectly contestable markets and analyze sustainable product offerings. Pure bundling can arise...

Tying the sale of products that could be sold separately is common in competitive markets - from left and right shoes, to the sports and living sections of daily newspapers, to cars and radios. This paper presents a cost-based theory for why tying occurs in competitive markets and uses this...

By comparing the demand for a bundle and the vertical sum of the demands for its components, this article analyzes the profitability and welfare consequences of bundling. If it does not lower costs, bundling tends to be profitable when reservation values are negatively correlated and high...