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Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
Anticompetitive Barriers to E-Commerce: A Symposium
| Start: | Wednesday, May 24, 2006 08:00 AM |
| End: | Wednesday, May 24, 2006 05:00 AM |
| Location: | 329 Hazel Hall |
A Symposium Presented by:
the Mercatus Center at George Mason University,
the George Mason University School of Law,
& the Journal of Law, Economics, and Policy
Featuring Keynote Speaker
Kenneth Starr Dean,
Pepperdine University School of Law
Business-to-consumer e-commerce is one of the fastest growing business sectors in the American economy. As a result, industry-specific economic regulations, occupational licensing, franchising laws, and a variety of other practices are now under challenge from a new direction. High-profile lawsuits and policy battles involving e-commerce have occurred in industries as diverse as automobiles, wine, caskets, real estate, and contact lenses. In some cases, the bricks-and-mortar incumbents have responded by lobbying for laws or regulations that would protect them from Internet-based competition. Innovation in e-commerce is also calling into question many established policies that generally protect incumbents from new entrants - often in-state interests from out-of-state interests.
In light of these developments, court cases and Federal Trade Commission hearings have revealed that there is a paucity of economic and legal analysis focused on legal and regulatory barriers to e-commerce.
To explore these new issues, and to stimulate research in this area, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, in collaboration with the George Mason University School of Law, is holding a day-long symposium to allow prominent legal and economic scholars to present papers on topics such as: the current status of legal and regulatory barriers, their impact on consumers, their implications for competitive federalism, and more...
The papers from this symposium will be published in a special issue of the The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy:
The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy (JLEP) represents a unique undertaking. It is the first student-run journal of law and economics in legal academia. The journal serves as an outlet for the experience and interests of George Mason law students, including our Levy Fellows, who are economics Ph.D.'s currently working on their J.D.'s. Most importantly, it is structured as a cooperative journal. Although student-edited, the journal is peer-reviewed, ensuring that the published articles are of the highest quality.
Directions to the Arlington Campus
Agenda
Symposium Agenda
Wednesday, May 24th
Mercatus Center and George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA
8:00-8:30 a.m.
Registration- Room 329, Hazel Hall
8:30-8:45 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Susan E. Dudley, Mercatus Center
Daniel D. Polsby, Dean, George Mason University School of Law
8:45-9:30 a.m.
Keynote Addresss
"The Commerce Clause and E-Commerce"
Kenneth W. Starr, Dean, Pepperdine University School of Law
Audio available here.
9:30-10:45 a.m.
Panel 1: Autos
Moderator:
Todd J. Zywicki, George Mason University School of Law
"Automobile Distribution Restrictions: An Economic Perspective"
Debra J. Holt, Federal Trade Commission
"A Competitive Analysis of Regulatory Barriers
to Internet Auto Sales"
John T. Delacourt, Kelley Drye Collier Shannon
Commenters:
Joseph M. Johnson
Economist
United States Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy
Martin Johnson
Senior Economist
International Trade Administration
Department of Commerce
10:45-11:00 a.m.
Break
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Panel 2: Caskets
Moderator:
David E. Harrington, Kenyon College
"Protectionism as a Rational Basis?
The Impact on E-Commerce in the Funeral Industry"
Asheesh Agarwal, US Department of Justice
"Casket Sales Restrictions and the Funeral Market"
Daniel Sutter, University of Oklahoma
Commenters:
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman
Department of Economics
George Mason University
Brian Higginbotham
Economist
Joint Economic Committee
12:15-1:45 p.m.
Lunch Address
Michael S. Greve, American Enterprise Institute
2:00-3:15 p.m.
Panel 3: Wine
Moderator:
Donald J. Boudreaux, George Mason University
"The Economics of Direct Wine Shipping"
Jerry Ellig, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Alan E. Wiseman, Ohio State University
"What Next in the Wine War?"
James Alexander Tanford, Indiana University School of Law
Commenters:
Maureen K. Ohlhausen
Director of the Office of Policy Planning
Federal Trade Commission
Professor of Law
George Mason University School of Law
Senior Fellow
James Buchanan Center
3:15-3:30 p.m.
Break
3:30-4:45 p.m.
Panel 4: Empirical Analysis of E-Commerce
Moderator:
Jerry Ellig, Mercatus Center
"Public versus Private Restraints on the Online Distribution of Contact Lenses: A Distinction with a Difference"
James C. Cooper, Federal Trade Commission
"Real Estate Brokerage and E-Commerce:
A Framework for Empirical Analysis"
R. Richard Geddes, Cornell University
Commenters:
Robert D. Atkinson, Ph.D.
President
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Ken Heyer
Economics Director & Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis.
Antitrust Division
United States Department of Justice
4:45-5:00 p.m.
Concluding Remarks
Jerry Ellig, Mercatus Center
