Cartels As Rational Business Strategy: Crime Pays

“Cartels have always been the highest concern of antitrust. They overcharge consumers many billions of dollars every year1 and there is a strong consensus that they should be sanctioned heavily. Yet, until now no one has ever seriously attempted to analyze whether cartel sanctions are at the optimal level. This Article is the first to undertake this formidable task. Surprisingly, it demonstrates that the combined level of U.S. cartel sanctions has been only 9% to 21% as large Read More …

Forget Oil, Worry About Phosphorus

“The following was authored by C. Robert Taylor, Alfa Eminent Scholar and Professor of Agricultural Economics at Auburn University and OCM Senior Economic Fellow and published in the Daily Yonder.” (all charts, graphs and illustrations can be found in the Newsletter archives, October 2010 edition) The world’s agriculture depends on a mineral that is declining in production and is controlled by a cartel of companies. Troubling, ain’t it? Modern farming methods depend increasingly on fossil fuels and major Read More …