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Geoffrey Manne

@geoffmanne.bsky.social

620 followers 270 following 15 posts

President & Founder, International Center for Law & Economics. Visiting Professor of Law, IE Law School (Madrid). Focus on antitrust, telecom, regulation, privacy, data, IP, etc.

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Reposted by Geoffrey A. Manne

Kay Jebelli @kayjebelli.bsky.social · Feb 13

There's an absolutely fantastic paper on this by Dirk Auer and @geoffmanne.bsky.social that really deserves its own separate thread, but it "identifies a sharp divergence between the online platforms that authorities want and those that emerge organically." laweconcenter.org/resources/o...

On the Origin of Platforms: An Evolutionary Perspective - International Center for Law & Economics

Abstract Hardly a day goes by without news of some proposed intervention by competition authorities into the digital economy. In recent years, enforcers in both . . .

laweconcenter.org

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

The push for aggressive labor antitrust enforcement is growing, but is it backed by solid evidence? At Truth on the Market, @briancalbrecht.bsky.social and I argue that the case for expanded labor antitrust is (at least so far) weaker than proponents claim. 🧵

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

Read the full post by @briancalbrecht.bsky.social & me here: truthonthemarket.com/2024/12/18/.... And our paper, "Labor Monopsony and Antitrust Enforcement: A Distorting Mirror", w/ Dirk Auer expanding considerably on the points in the post, here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers...

Labor Antitrust: A Solution in Search of Evidence

The growing focus on labor-market power and antitrust enforcement has sparked important debates about both the empirical foundations and practical implementation of these emerging policy priorities. In a recent piece for ProMarket, Eric Posner argues that overwhelming academic evidence supports expanding antitrust scrutiny of labor markets—criticizing, in particular, the skepticism expressed by the Federal Trade ... Labor Antitrust: A Solution in Search of Evidence

truthonthemarket.com

Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

Labor-market harms should be considered in antitrust enforcement. But effective policy requires sound evidence and practical tools — not premature, economy-wide changes. Sweeping reforms based on limited evidence risk imposing high costs with little benefit.

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

The FTC’s proposed HSR rule changes would have imposed considerable compliance costs, requiring firms to report labor data with little analytical value. Even workplace-safety violations were included — without evidence linking them to market power.

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

Defining relevant labor markets for antitrust is another challenge. Take the FTC’s Kroger/Albertsons case: it defined a market for “union grocery labor,” ignoring competition from non-union jobs and other industries. This narrow definition doesn’t reflect reality.

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

Meanwhile, the models & measures used in labor economics weren't developed with antitrust enforcement in mind and may not capture the antitrust-relevant complexities. Holyoak is right to suggest caution, and Posner is wrong to take her to task for doing so.

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

In fairness, a recent BLS study finds higher concentration by some measures. But that's the point: at best we really don't know; the evidence certainly isn't overwhelming. www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/20....

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

Beyond these few studies, it's not even clear that labor-market concentration is a significant concern. Labor-market concentration has actually declined over time, as shown by @kevinrinz.bsky.social and others. Claims of pervasive employer dominance are overstated.

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 19

The studies cited by Posner — which do indeed constitute the bulk of the direct evidence — show *context-specific* effects, not broad evidence of systemic labor-market harm from mergers. The empirical base linking mergers to wage suppression is remarkably thin.

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Reposted by Geoffrey A. Manne

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Dec 18

CBO releases estimates for how tariff Trump tariffs affect prices & GDP.
The combination of a uniform increase in tariffs of 10% +
additional 50% on goods imported from China would
increase the level of the PCE price index by roughly 1%, and reduce real GDP by 0.6%
www.cbo.gov/publication/....

Effects of Illustrative Policies That Would Increase Tariffs

CBO provides a preliminary assessment of the budgetary, economic, and distributional effects of three policies that would raise tariff rates on goods imported into the United States.

www.cbo.gov

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 16

The speaker lineup for our Jan. 17 "Substance Over Slogans" antitrust event in Paris is phenomenal, IMHO. Registration is open and spots are filling up!

More info/registration here: laweconcenter.org/events/subs...

Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 12

Final results here: web.cvent.com/event/39143...

Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 12

Wow! Huge congratulations to ICLE board member, ICLE academic affiliate, and UChicago Law prof., Todd Henderson, on his victory over an incredibly tough field of competitors in the George Mason LEC Manne Madness Tournament!!

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Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 11

www.ftc.gov/news-events/...

FTC and DOJ Withdraw Guidelines for Collaboration Among Competitors

Today, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) jointly announced the withdrawal of the Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (Collabor

www.ftc.gov

Geoffrey Manne @geoffmanne.bsky.social · Dec 11

One month before a new admin., w/ no replacement, & no guidance. Oh, no, I'm sorry; there's this:

"[Collaborators] are encouraged to review the relevant statutes and caselaw to assess whether a collaboration would violate the law."

www.ftc.gov/news-events...

Reposted by Geoffrey A. Manne

Michael R Strain @michaelrstrain.bsky.social · Dec 11

1/ The attached paragraph, from @noahpinion.blogsky.venki.dev's newsletter this morning, is in my view largely correct. This isn't the point of Noah's newsletter, but reading that paragraph made me think two steps further.

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Reposted by Geoffrey A. Manne

Brian Albrecht @briancalbrecht.bsky.social · Nov 21

“Substance Over Slogans: Strengthening the Foundations of Antitrust”

Join us in Paris on Jan. 17, 2025, for an incredible event!
laweconcenter.org/events/subst...

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Reposted by Geoffrey A. Manne

TechFreedom @techfreedom.org · Nov 20

The Department of Justice wants to redesign the iPhone ecosystem. What could possibly go wrong!

On the latest Tech Policy Podcast, ICLE's president @geoffmanne.bsky.social returns to discuss the ins and outs of the DoJ’s Apple antitrust case.

podcast.techfreedom.org/episodes/390...

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