Monopoly? Oligopoly? Should Consumers Care?

Ma Bell had a monopoly in long-distance calls when Charley’s Angels dominated prime time; Standard Oil came close in oil, long before any of us were born. Almost everybody applauded when they were broken up – and lots of folks groaned when Microsoft, another gigantic corporation that cast a very …

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Drunk on Protectionism

Years ago, one of us (Hahn) helped write a “friend of the court” brief for the U.S. Supremes in a case called Granholm v. Heald [Download Here], in which out-of-state wineries challenged state laws that discriminated against direct shipments to in-state consumers. Six high-profile economists, …

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