scholarly journals Consumer Inertia, the New Economy and EU Competition Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Vladimir Bastidas Venegas
Keyword(s):  
Law And Economics ◽  
New Economy ◽  
Behavioural Economics ◽  
Information Costs ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Default Option ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Economics Literature ◽  
The Status ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Services and goods in the new economy, such as social media platforms and applications, are often offered to end-consumers for “free”. This may cause problems for the application of traditional antitrust doctrines, such as tying or other forms of leveraging, which normally have been applied to products and services offered at a price. As illustrated by the Microsoft I decision (Windows Media Player), it is not self-evident that the bundling of an application with an operating system results in coercion, the pressure to consume the “tied” product, if consumers have a de facto possibility to download competing products for free. Moreover, the availability of competing products for free may also affect the long-term effects in the market, as both the existing customer base and new customers may easily shift their consumption, which decreases potential “lock-in” effects. This propensity and capability of customers to choose products or services other than the predefined “default” option, e.g. by being included in a bundle, was also relevant in the recent Google decision (Shopping), which concerned the company’s preferential placement of its own advertising messages in internet searches. In both Microsoft I and the Google decision, it was found that consumers were unable to choose products and services other than the default option, so-called consumer inertia. Consumer inertia has been explained both by the traditional law and economics literature and behavioural economics with switching costs, information costs and the status quo bias. Accordingly, this article explores the concept of consumer inertia in the light of the law and economics literature, in particular behavioural economics, to determine the factors which are relevant for establishing the presence of consumer inertia in individual antitrust cases concerning the new economy. Moreover, the article evaluates to what extent the use of consumer inertia in cases from the Union courts and the Commission is consistent with economic theory.

scholarly journals Ecclesia Anglicana Conference of September 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Julius Gathogo
Keyword(s):  
Virus Disease ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Market Place ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Ecclesial Leadership ◽  
The Status ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
Intellectual Activities

As the first wave of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) was being experienced in Kenya since 13 March 2020, when a 27-year-old Kenyan woman became the first person to be diagnosed with it, some Anglicans in Kenya were contrariwise overcoming the shock, that went with it, as they undertook noble intellectual activities. As numbers went on soaring, and as some celebrated artists, scholars, clerics, and other cadres of society became early casualties of Covid-19, an Ecclesia Anglicana was boldly entering the ecclesiastical market-place with new rhythms hitherto unknown in Kenya’s historiography. In other words, a theo-ecclesial creativity was cooking in an African pot, and cooking well from the nethermost depths of the Ocean floor, rather than from the top stratums. While the revolutionary trigger was set on 6 August 2017, it had to await the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1918-1919 before it picked up its momentum. Put it differently, the momentum picked up astoundingly during Kenya’s Covid-19 lockdown, as two major conferences were successfully held during this chilling moment. The first major webinars’ conference was held on 26 August 2020; while the second one was held on 16 September 2020. Characteristically, the two conferences made a bold attempt at understanding the Anglican ecclesiology by cooking it from the local resources and spiced it up through the modern science and technology. Was it a protest against theo-intellectual lockdown cutting across the continent, a phenomenon where a casual observation shows that social and ecclesial leadership has largely attracted the less intellectually-inclined sons and daughters of the land? Methodologically, this article seeks to explore, and indeed make a survey of Ecclesia Anglicana and attempt to understand it beyond the founders’ perspectives, after interviews with some of them, and make an informed analysis. Second, this article will attempt to show how Ecclesia Anglicana is ushering in a new rhythm, as it beats the drums of science and technology, modern communication and social media platforms, and hopefully change the status quo for the better. It appears that nothing will slow down this rapid tempo; for if the pandemic has not, what else can do so? Third, the article will focus more on the 16 September 2020 webinar conference which, in my view, was the most climactic moment for Ecclesia Anglicana since 2017 when the idea was mooted and subsequently released to the public square for broader consumption. Will Ecclesia Anglicana help in building a more informed and/or an intellectually engaging Kenyan Anglican society?

scholarly journals The Erroneous Foundations of Law and Economics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-114
Author(s):  
Mark Glick ◽  
Gabriel A. Lozada
Keyword(s):  
Law And Economics ◽  
Consumer Surplus ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Pareto Efficiency ◽  
Wealth Maximization ◽  
The Status ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Ethical Failures ◽  
The 19Th Century

The fundamental originating principle of law and economics (L&E) is that legal decisions should be (and are) based on maximizing efficiency. But L&E proponents do not define “efficiency” in the way agreed to by most economists, as Pareto Efficiency. A Pareto optimal condition is obtained when no one can be made better off without making someone worse off. Pareto Improvements are win-win changes where no losers exist. In the judicial system, however, there are always winners and losers, because under Article III § 2 of the Constitution a legal case does not exist unless there is a justiciable “case or controversy” in need of resolution. Unable to use Pareto Efficiency, L&E scholars have been forced to adopt alternative definitions of efficiency. Most L&E scholars claim to define “efficiency” based on the work of Kaldor and Hicks, but (perhaps unwittingly) instead use a definition of “efficiency” derived from the 19th century idea of consumer surplus, which encompasses L&E notions such as “wealth maximization,” and “consumer welfare” in antitrust. Neither of these alternative definitions is viable, however. Outside of L&E, the Kaldor-Hicks approach has long been recognized to be riddled with logical inconsistencies and ethical failures, and the surplus approach is even more deficient. Remarkably, virtually none of the numerous L&E textbooks even hint at such problems. Critically, all definitions of efficiency improvements in economics are biased in favor of wealthy individuals or firms, either because they are dependent on the status quo ante distribution of assets, or because they bestow large advantages on parties with political influence or who can afford to bring lawsuits quickly. Many L&E practitioners treat efficiency improvements instead as being objectively good, an error revealing that L&E is primarily motivated by its neoliberal policy agenda.

scholarly journals Default bias or no default bias? evidence from decisions regarding occupational pension fund enrollment in Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-127
Author(s):  
Andrea Lippi
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Occupational Pension ◽  
Default Option ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Status

If forced to choose a supplementary pension fund, people will decide not to decide, accepting decisions made for them by others (default bias), reaching a status quo position. This study analyses whether the status quo position achieved via the default option in Italian occupational pension funds is later changed over the period studied (2007-2011), and the factors influencing any change.

scholarly journals Will the World Ever Be the Same After COVID-19? Two Lessons from the First Global Crisis of a Digital Age

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Fenwick ◽  
Joseph A. McCahery ◽  
Erik P. M. Vermeulen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Global Crisis ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
The Status ◽  
Multiple Domains

Abstract Coronavirus is the first global crisis of a digital age and the divergence in policy responses reflects the challenge of navigating an unprecedented global situation under conditions of enormous uncertainty. We ask what lessons can be learned from this experience and identify two, both of which push against mainstream interpretations of recent events. First, and contrary to the view that the crisis exposed social media and Big Tech as a source of dangerous misinformation that needs to be regulated more strictly, the paper argues that the less mediated spaces of the Internet—social media and Twitter, in particular—played an essential role in triggering a more effective policy response based around social distancing, lockdown, and containment. Second, and contrary to the view that things will go back to normal once the worst of the crisis has passed, the paper argues that, as a direct result of lockdown, the status quo has been shifted across multiple sectors of the economy. Three examples of this shift are introduced, notably the forced experimentation with digital technologies in education and health, the increased use of remote work in many companies, and a reduction in environmentally harmful behavior and decrease in pollution levels. The long-term effects of this ‘reset’ are impossible to predict, but a quick return to the ‘old normal’ seems unlikely. The paper concludes with the suggestion that this reset has created a unique historical opportunity for the reappraisal of regulatory approaches across multiple domains and exposed the need for regulatory models better aligned to a less mediated, more decentralized world. COVID-19 is a global tragedy, but—given that it has happened—it should be used as a learning experience to re-imagine a better, more socially, and environmentally responsible future.

Behavioral Law and Economics of Property Law

2014 ◽  
pp. 376-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphna Lewinsohn-Zamir
Keyword(s):  
Current Literature ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Behavioral Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Liability Rules ◽  
Commercial Property ◽  
Economics Literature ◽  
Behavioral Law And Economics

This chapter critically surveys the behavioral law-and-economics literature on property law. First, it sketches the main features of existing studies and their tendency to excessively focus on certain topics, such as the home. The chapter then discusses various issues with respect to which behavioral analysis has made an impact, such as the characterization of property as a “thing” or as a “bundle of sticks,” compensation for takings of property, the choice between property rules and liability rules, and redistribution through rules of property law. The chapter proceeds to highlight several gaps in the current literature, such as the disregard of commercial property, fungible property, and movables. Finally, the chapter addresses the desirability and possibility of debiasing, and offers recommendations for future research.

The United Arab Emirates will monitor internet closely

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Brands ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
The Status ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government ◽  
In Transit

Subject Importance of social media in the United Arab Emirates. Significance The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is among the most connected countries in the Middle East, with one of the highest rates of social media penetration. Compared with Western countries, UAE consumers are more likely to engage with brands and to be less worried about issues of privacy and tracking. The government engages in extensive monitoring, surveillance and censorship of social media and apps. Impacts Both global brands and local businesses have additional scope to develop social media strategies to capitalise on rising usage. Content with the status quo and tight monitoring will prevent activists from leveraging social media platforms to bring about change. Extraterritorial aspects of the cybercrime law could be applied to non-residents and travellers in transit. Non-renewal of visas could become a more common, low-profile way to exclude expatriates who transgress on social media.

The Economics of Fiduciary Law

2019 ◽  
pp. 665-685
Author(s):  
Richard R.W. Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Structural Approach ◽  
Economic Analysis Of Law ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Institutional Economic ◽  
The Third ◽  
Personal Character ◽  
Economics Literature ◽  
The Law

This chapter examines the treatment of fiduciary law in the field of law and economics. It begins with a typology of three theoretical tracts that accounts for loyalty in economics: the first tract takes a structural approach to questions of loyalty and disloyalty based on models occupied by strictly rational economic agents who are unable to choose or act in any manner than that dictated by narrow self-interests; the second explains loyalty in terms of personal character or preferences for particular actions and choices; and the third approaches loyalty in terms of allegiances to relationships or associations and, more specifically, to their associated rules of conduct. The chapter then discusses these three theoretical tracts of loyalty by reviewing the law and economics literature on beneficiaries and fiduciaries in general, and principals and agents in particular. The discussion is organized along lines of the two branches of scholarship that defines the field of law and economics: institutional economic analysis and economic analysis of law.

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