The Capitol Forum

Latest Episodes:

Structural Presumption for Merger Review with Tommaso Valletti May 25, 2023

Show notes

Tommaso Valletti is Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School and also the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (on leave). He was formerly the Chief Competition Economist of the European Commission,

In a recent paper, "Structuring a Structural Presumption for Merger Review," Tommaso and Filippo Lancieri discuss the key standards that should drive antitrust enforcement.

The Coming Antitrust Wars in the Alcohol Market, with Harry Schuhmacher Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

With the FTC already investigating the liquor distribution market as well as Big Soda as it tries to enter the beer market, and with the Department of Treasury's TTB undertaking a rulemaking to revamp alcohol competition law, the timing couldn't be better to hear from Harry Schuhmacher on his views on problematic conduct in the alcohol markets.

Harry Schuhmacher is Editor & Publisher of Beer Business Daily, Craft Business Daily and Wine & Spirits Daily – all read on every continent except Antarctica. Harry has worked in the beer business for over 30 years in a variety of positions, and has published Beer Business Daily for over twenty years. In addition, he is the producer of the Beer Industry Summit and the Wine & Spirits Summit. He is often quoted as a beer industry expert in national publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Spotting Anticompetitive Conduct in Pharma Supply Chain, with Antonio Ciaccia Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

46brooklyn is a group of pharmacy experts who set out to educate others about what they had learned about the frustrating complexity of the U.S. drug pricing system.

As 46brooklyn dug into the pharmaceutical supply chain, Ohio began uncovering hundreds of millions of dollars in state overspending on prescription drugs through its Ohio Medicaid program. 46brooklyn's founders had begun doing data analytics and research to help uncover massive disconnects between pharmacy reimbursements, the actual costs of prescription drugs, and what the state of Ohio was getting charged through its state Medicaid program.

Ever since, 46brooklyn has spearheaded a national push for more transparency into the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly the role played by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).

United Healthcare's Culture and Coverage Denial Crisis, with David Armstrong and Patrick Rucker Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

On February 2nd, Propublica and The Capitol Forum co-published a blockbuster article: "UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings."

It is a shocking story about a persistent effort by an insurer to choose profit over patient health, and we discuss the reporting for the story in-depth with two of the authors. We also explore what the reporters learned about UnitedHealth's culture and the gaps in oversight and enforcement when it comes to the government's role in policing and regulating insurance companies.

Analyzing the FTC's Ban on Noncompete Agreements with Sandeep Vaheesan Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

The FTC recently proposed to ban noncompete agreements, and one of the most persistent advocates for this rule is Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director at the Open Markets Institute.

Vaheesan leads Open Markets’ legal advocacy and research work, including its amicus program. Vaheesan works on a range of anti-monopoly topics, including antitrust law’s role in structuring labor markets and promoting fair competition. From 2015 to 2018, he served as a regulations counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he helped develop rules on payday and title lending and debt collection practices. Before that, he worked at the American Antitrust Institute.

Vaheesan’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harvard Law & Policy Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Yale Law Journal Forum. He has a forthcoming book titled Democracy in Power with the University of Chicago Press on the history of public and cooperative power in the United States and the lessons it offers for building a clean, publicly accountable electric industry today.

FTC’s Elizabeth Wilkins Discusses Proposed Ban on Non-Compete Agreements Jan 20, 2023

Show notes

The FTC recently issued a proposed rule to ban noncompete clauses, which the agency estimates could increase workers’ earnings by nearly $300 billion per year.

Elizabeth Wilkins is the FTC’s Director of the Office of Policy Planning, and the lead on the proposed rule on noncompetes.

The Office of Policy Planning assists the Commission to develop and implement long-range competition and consumer protection policy initiatives and advises staff on cases raising new or complex policy and legal issues.

One of the Office of Policy Planning's primary roles involves advocacy, submitting filings supporting competition and consumer protection principles to state legislatures, regulatory boards, and officials; state and federal courts; other federal agencies; and professional organizations. The Office also organizes public workshops and issues reports on cutting-edge competition and consumer protection topics, addressing questions of substantive antitrust law, industry-specific practices, and significant national and international policy debates. In addition to the Office of Policy Planning, several offices throughout the Commission, including the Bureau of Competition’s Office of Policy and Coordination, also provide policy advice.

Chokepoint Capitalism with Author Cory Doctorow Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

“In Chokepoint Capitalism, scholar Rebecca Giblin and writer and activist Cory Doctorow argue we’re in a new era of “chokepoint capitalism,” with exploitative businesses creating insurmountable barriers to competition that enable them to capture value that should rightfully go to others. All workers are weakened by this, but the problem is especially well-illustrated by the plight of creative workers. From Amazon’s use of digital rights management and bundling to radically change the economics of book publishing, to Google and Facebook’s siphoning away of ad revenues from news media, and the Big Three record labels’ use of inordinately long contracts to up their own margins at the cost of artists, chokepoints are everywhere.”

“By analyzing book publishing and news, live music and music streaming, screenwriting, radio and more, Giblin and Doctorow deftly show how powerful corporations construct “anti-competitive flywheels” designed to lock in users and suppliers, make their markets hostile to new entrants, and then force workers and suppliers to accept unfairly low prices.”

“In the book’s second half, Giblin and Doctorow then explain how to batter through those chokepoints, with tools ranging from transparency rights to collective action and ownership, radical interoperability, contract terminations, job guarantees, and minimum wages for creative work.”

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710957/chokepoint-capitalism-by-cory-doctorow-and-rebecca-giblin/

FTC Chair Lina Khan Discusses Unfair Methods of Competition Dec 12, 2022

Show notes

Lina M. Khan was sworn in as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission on June 15, 2021. Prior to becoming head of the FTC, Khan was an Associate Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. She also previously served as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, legal adviser to FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, and legal director at the Open Markets Institute.

Microsoft/Activision with Xbox CEO Phil Spencer Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer discusses competition in the video game market.

Fixing "Litigating the Fix" with Professor Steve Salop Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

Steven Salop is a Professor of Economics and Law (Emeritus) at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, where he teaches antitrust law and economics. His research and consulting focuses on antitrust, competition and regulation. He has written numerous articles in various areas of antitrust and competition which take a modern “Post-Chicago” approach.

He recently co-wrote a paper with Jennifer E. Sturiale laying out a proposal for how antitrust enforcers and courts can fix "Litigating the Fix."

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