Market Structures

The billion-dollar all-star cheerleading industry, long dominated by Varsity Brands, is beginning to see glimmers of a more open market. The cracks of daylight follow a pair of foundational blows: …

Parmigiano Reggiano has used tracking codes for two decades, but now they are going high tech.

So how did we get here?

This morning the White House announced that 20 major internet service providers have committed to lowering the cost of internet access for low-income households who qualify for the federal subsidy of up to $30 per month (of $75 per month for tribal households).

“Last week I ran my "blind" taste test with econ faculty at @UTKnoxville, but I used chocolate bars instead of ice cream. Even among a potentially more refined palette, no one was able to rank the bars by price. This is one of my favorite lessons for monopolistic competition.”

[Good news, everyone! We were clearing out Quinns' stuff and we found something he was apparently too scared to publish. By way of showing respect, we've published it here in full.] I’ll be honest, I didn’t really want to write about this event. In the words of one of the…

Globally, the cost of mobile data ranges between $0.09 per GB up to $27 per GB. Here's how it breaks down in 150+ countries.

A court in the US has ruled that cheese does not have to come from the Gruyère region of Switzerland to be sold under this name.

Today's TED Talk takes a neuroscientific look at game theory. Here, how game theory applies to relationships and even kidney donations.

I love the US Post Service and so do nearly 90% of Americans. Of all the government agencies out there, it may be the one with the most bipartisan support. It plays an incredibly vital role in the American economy and yet doesn’t receive any direct taxpayer funds. It also isn't a public good.

Flight costs $80… but the overweight luggage costs $180, and we hope you packed a sandwich. Budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier are (in)famous...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday flagged concerns about consolidation in the $250 billion annual U.S. alcohol market and outlined reforms it said could boost competition and save consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The tie-up to create the nation's fifth largest carrier is valued at $6.6 billion when accounting for the assumption of debt and other liabilities.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard was the biggest in history. Here we visualize the top 15 biggest gaming company acquisitions.

Martin Shkreli was condemned for raising Daraprim's price in 2015 by people like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Gruyere cheese does not have to come from the Gruyere region of Europe to be sold under the gruyere name, a federal judge has ruled.

It's part of the administration's broader antitrust crackdown, but industry groups have pushed back.

2021 was the year of broken supply chains, Amazon aggregators, more advertising, Shopify's almost-marketplace, and one unanswered question - did the pandemic boost e-commerce after all? For now, the world of marketplaces revolves around Amazon - it has doubled in size in two years. No one will challenge it directly, but a different paradigm might.

an interactive guide to the game theory of why & how we trust each other

Poultry company executives are indicted on antitrust charges after years of federal investigations into price-fixing on America’s most ubiquitous protein.

COVID-19 hit the global economy hard, but some companies thrived amidst the chaos. Here are the top 100 most valuable brands of 2021.

At-home test kits have been hard to find in my cities across the United States. When they are in stock, their prices seem higher than what they should. One possible explanation comes in the form of monopoly power from the largest producer of the kits: Abbott Labratories.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a major U.S. sugar manufacturer from acquiring its rival. The department contends that the deal would harm competition and consumers.

Last week saw the end of a 46-day long protest, including a 2-week long hunger strong, outside of City Hall in New York City. The group wasn’t protesting high rental prices or seeking to increase minimum wages in the city. The group sought debt relief

Answer: 10 Questions: Why do you think Tesla is valued so much higher than all the other auto companies (Hint: think about how their cars are powered).  Do you know who the founder of Tesla is? How about the founder of any of the other car companies you see on the chart?  What do you think that Tesla’s value signals about the future of the car industry? Here's the ready-to-use slides for this Question of the Day for your classroom. Behind the numbers (USA Today): Its market value stands greater than General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, BMW and several other auto giants combined.

This is Coke’s most expensive brand acquisition in history and, combined with its Powerade product, would give the company a 22% share of the US sports drink market.