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Event Description

The Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference is held annually in November and brings together researchers from universities throughout the world, other government agencies, and other organizations to discuss antitrust, consumer protection, and policy issues that the economists in the FTC’s Bureau of Economics encounter in their work. The conference also provides an opportunity for scholars outside the FTC to gain a better understanding of the work of the FTC and the economic analysis conducted within the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.

The scientific committee for the conference is:

  • Meghan Busse (Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management)
  • Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)
  • Kate Ho (Columbia University)
  • Robert Porter (Northwestern University)

Organizers: Chris Adams (FTC) and Nathan Wilson (FTC)

The conference will be held at the Federal Trade Commission New Jersey Avenue Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20001.

We are now accepting submissions for the Sixth Annual Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference. Please see the Call for Papers for details. The deadline is July 8, 2013.

 

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

 

PURPOSE

The Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference will bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection, and public policy missions.

SPONSORS

This conference is sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics and Northwestern University’s Searle Center on Law, Regulation, and Economic Growth.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

The scientific committee for the Sixth Annual Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference consists of Meghan Busse from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Dennis Carlton from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Kate Ho from Columbia University, and Robert Porter from Northwestern University. The FTC conference organizers are Chris Adams and Nathan Wilson.

BACKGROUND

The annual Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference began in 2008 and grew out of the idea that the FTC could benefit from bringing together researchers from universities throughout the world, other government agencies, and other organizations to discuss antitrust, consumer protection, and policy issues that the economists in the FTC’s Bureau of Economics encounter in their work. The conference also provides an opportunity for scholars outside the FTC to gain a better understanding of the work of the FTC and the economic analysis conducted within the FTC’s Bureau of Economics. The Sixth Annual Federal Trade Commission Microeconomics Conference will bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection, and public policy missions November 7-8, 2013, at the Federal Trade Commission Conference Center in Washington, D.C.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics will host a two-day conference to bring together scholars working in areas related to the FTC’s antitrust, consumer protection and public policy missions. Those areas include industrial organization, antitrust, privacy, game theory, quantitative marketing, consumer behavior, law and economics, healthcare economics, behavioral and experimental economics. Relevant topics include healthcare competition, innovation, advertising, information disclosure, privacy, mergers, monopolization, collusion, e-commerce, credit markets, demand estimation, consumer decision-making, and intellectual property.

Interested participants should send an abstract or completed paper to BE-Micro@ftc.gov by July 8, 2013. Note that preference will be given to completed papers. We also welcome suggestions for panel discussions.

Download the Call for Papers as a PDF.

  • Thursday, November 7  
       
    8:30 a.m.   Registration
       
    9:00 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
    Marty Gaynor (Federal Trade Commission)
       
    9:15 a.m.  Keynote Address, “Patent Litigation and FRAND”
    Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago, Booth)
       
    9:45 a.m. 
     
    Paper Session One: Merger and Innovation Policy
    Chaired by Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago, Booth)
    [Paper] Matthew Weinberg (Drexel University), Efficiencies Brewed: Pricing and Consolidation in the U.S. Beer Industry
        Discussant: Jonathan Baker (American University, Washington College of Law)
    [Paper] Christopher Conlon (Columbia University), An Experimental Approach to Merger Evaluation
        Discussant: Daniel O’Brien (Federal Trade Commission)
    [Paper] Álvaro Parra (Northwestern), Sequential Innovation and Patent Policy
        Discussant: Joshua Gans (University of Toronto, Rotman)
       
    11:15 a.m. Morning Break
       
    11:35 a.m.  Panel Session One: Antitrust in the Age of the Internet: What Changes and Why?
    Chaired by Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago, Booth)   
      Joshua Gans (University of Toronto, Rotman)
      Avi Goldfarb (University of Toronto, Rotman)
      Andres Lerner (Compass Lexecon)
      John Yun (Federal Trade Commission)
       
    12:35 p.m. Lunch
       
    1:10 p.m. Keynote Address, “Implications of Recent Research for Hospital Prices”
    Kate Ho (Columbia University)
       
    1:40 p.m. Paper Session Two: The Effects of Constrained and Costly Search on Choice
    Chaired by Kate Ho (Columbia University)
    [Paper] Stephan Seiler (Stanford University), Free to Choose? Reform and Demand Response in the English National Health Service
        Discussant: Keith Brand (Federal Trade Commission)
    [Paper] Andrew Ching (University of Toronto, Rotman), Quantifying the Impacts of Limited Supply: The Case of Nursing Homes
        Discussant: Andrew Sweeting (University of Maryland)
    [Paper] Elisabeth Honka (University of Texas at Dallas), Simultaneous or Sequential? Search Strategies in the U.S. Auto Insurance Industry
        Discussant: Jean-François Houde (University of Pennsylvania, Wharton)
       
    3:10 p.m Afternoon Break
       
    3:30 p.m. Paper Session Three: Auctions and Franchising
    Chaired by Rob Porter (Northwestern University)
    [Paper] Sean Chu (Federal Reserve Board of Governors), Empirical Analysis of Bond Ratings Inflation as a Game of Incomplete Information
        Discussant: Wei Tan (Renmin University of China)
    [Paper] Francine Lafontaine (University of Michigan), Financial Constraints and Franchising Decisions
        Discussant: Wally Mullin (George Washington University)
    [Paper] Nicola Lacetera (University of Toronto), Bid Takers or Market Makers? The Effect of Auctioneers on Auction Outcomes
        Discussant: Jorge Balat (Johns Hopkins University)
       
    5:00 p.m.  Hors d’oeuvres Reception
    Sponsored by the Searle Center on Law, Regulation and Economic Growth
    at Northwestern University
       
    Friday, November 8
       
    9:00 a.m. Keynote Address, “Information and Car Buying”   
    Meghan Busse (Northwestern University, Kellogg)
       
    9:30 a.m. Paper Session Four: Consumer Protection in Markets with Limited Attention
    Chaired by Meghan Busse (Northwestern University, Kellogg))
    [Paper] Marco Ottaviani (Bocconi University), Hypertargeting, Limited Attention, and Privacy: Implications for Marketing and Campaigning
        Discussant: Doug Smith (Federal Trade Commission)
    [Paper] Katja Seim (University of Pennsylvania, Wharton), Drip Pricing When Consumers Have Limited Foresight: Evidence from Driving School Fees
        Discussant: Michael Grubb (Boston College)
    [Paper] Zhongmin Wang (Resources for the Future), Selling a Dollar for More Than a Dollar? Evidence from Online Penny Auctions
        Discussant: Greg Lewis (Harvard University)
       
    11:00 a.m.   Morning Break
       
    11:20 a.m. Keynote Address, “Auctioning Resource Rights”
    Rob Porter (Northwestern University)
       
    11:50 a.m. Panel Session Two: Economics of Prize-Linked Savings
    Chaired by Patrick McAlvanah (Federal Trade Commission)
      Stuart Butler (Heritage Foundation)
      Julian Jamison (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
      Erkut Ozbay (University of Maryland)
      Mervyn Tang (British Embassy)
       
    12:50 p.m.  Close

     

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Under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) or other laws, we may be required to disclose to outside organizations the information you provide when you pre-register for events that require registration. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments, whether filed in paper or electronic form, and as a matter of discretion, we make every effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the public comments before posting them on the FTC website.

The FTC Act and other laws we administer permit the collection of your pre-registration contact information and the comments you file to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. For additional information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see the Commission’s Privacy Act system for public records and comprehensive privacy policy.

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