U.S. Department
of Justice
Public Workshop: Conditional Pricing Practices
FTC Constitution Center, Conference Center
400 Seventh Street SW
Washington, DC 20024
United States
Event Details
Workshop Information
On June 23, 2014, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a one-day public Workshop to explore the economics and legal policy implications of certain pricing practices, such as loyalty and bundled pricing.
The Workshop, which consisted of presentations and roundtable discussions, focused on practices in which prices are explicitly or effectively contingent on commitments to purchase or sell a specified share or volume of a single product or a mix of multiple products. Workshop participants considered theoretical and empirical developments in the economic understanding of these practices, discussed developments in the relevant case law, and assessed the implications for the proper treatment of these practices under the antitrust laws.
Our site includes presentation slides and links to the event transcript, recorded webcasts, and biographies of the speakers.
Press release: Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to Hold Workshop on Conditional Pricing Practices (May 6, 2014)
Press release: Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Announce Agenda for June 23, 2014, Joint Agency Workshop on Conditional Pricing Practices (June 4, 2014)
Press release: Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Extend Public Comment Period for Workshop on Conditional Pricing Practices - Comment Period Extended to Sept. 22, 2014 (July 30, 2014)
For more information, please send an e-mail to CPPworkshop@ftc.gov.
Date and Location
| Monday, June 23, 2014 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
Federal Trade Commission (Ground Floor) Conference Center Constitution Center 400 Seventh Street SW Washington, DC 20024 |
Workshop Agenda
Event transcriptFind the following resources on the FTC’s event web page:
Event videos. Look for Video under Event Details.
| 8:30 a.m.–8:45 a.m. |
William J. Baer, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice Introduction Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission |
| 8:45 a.m.–9:30 a.m. |
Overview of the Economics of Conditional Pricing Practices Presenters Michael Waldman, Charles H. Dyson Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, and Michael Whinston, Professor of Economics, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management, Department of Economics and Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
|
| 9:30 a.m.–10:45 a.m. |
The Economics of Conditional Pricing Practices Presenters Timothy J. Brennan, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Benjamin Klein, Professor of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles Michael A. Salinger, Jacqueline J. and Arthur S. Bahr Professorship in Management, School of Management, Boston University Abraham L. Wickelgren, Bernard J. Ward Centennial Professor of Law and Economics, University of Texas Law School
Discussants Randal Heeb, Partner, Bates White Francine Lafontaine, William Davidson Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Moderators Patrick DeGraba, Economist, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission Patrick Greenlee, Economist, Economic Analysis Group, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 10:45 a.m.–11:00 a.m. |
Break |
| 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. |
The Economics of Conditional Pricing Practices, Continued Presenters Kusum Ailawadi, Charles Jordan 1911 TU’12 Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College Miguel de la Mano, Head of Economic Analysis of Financial Markets, European Commission Joseph Farrell, Professor of Economics, Affiliated Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
Julie Holland Mortimer, Associate Professor of Economics, Boston College, Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research Discussants Matthew Bennett, Vice President, Charles River Associates, London C. Scott Hemphill, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School Moderators Michael G. Vita, Deputy Director for Research and Management, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission Matthew C. Mandelberg, Attorney, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 12:15 p.m.–1:15 p.m. |
Lunch |
| 1:15 p.m.–2:00 p.m. |
Roundtable Discussion on the Economics of Conditional Pricing Practices Matthew Bennett, Vice President, Charles River Associates, London Benjamin Klein, Professor of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles Francine Lafontaine, William Davidson Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan Julie Holland Mortimer, Associate Professor of Economics, Boston College, Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research Michael Waldman, Charles H. Dyson Professor of Management and Professor of Economics, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University Moderators Daniel P. O’Brien, Senior Economic Policy Advisor, Bureau of Economics, Federal Trade Commission Patrick Greenlee, Economist, Economic Analysis Group, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. |
Integrating the Economics of Exclusion with Current Legal Policy: Two Paradigms Presenter Steven C. Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown University Law Center |
| 2:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. |
The Law of Conditional Pricing Practices Presenters Daniel A. Crane, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, Frederick Paul Furth, Sr. Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School, Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Einer R. Elhauge, Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Randal Heeb, Partner, Bates White Robert O’Donoghue, Barrister, Brick Court Chambers, London
Discussants Richard Brunell, General Counsel, American Antitrust Institute Willard K. Tom, Partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Moderators Michael J. Bloom, Assistant Director, Office of Policy and Coordination, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission Robert A. Potter, Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 3:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. |
Break |
| 3:45 p.m.–4:45 p.m. |
The Law of Conditional Pricing Practices, Continued Presenters Leah Brannon, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP
Sean P. Gates, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP Jonathan Jacobson, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Fiona M. Scott Morton, Professor of Economics, Yale University School of Management
Discussants Steven C. Salop, Professor of Economics and Law, Georgetown University Law Center Abraham L. Wickelgren, Bernard J. Ward Centennial Professor of Law and Economics, University of Texas Law School Moderators Andrea E. Zach, Attorney, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission Samuel N. Weinstein, Attorney, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 4:45 p.m.–5:45 p.m. |
Where Do We Go From Here: Open Questions and Policy Considerations Jonathan Baker, Professor of Law, American University, Washington College of Law Daniel A. Crane, Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, Frederick Paul Furth, Sr. Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School, Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP C. Scott Hemphill, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School Fiona M. Scott Morton, Professor of Economics, Yale University School of Management Richard M. Steuer, Partner, Mayer Brown Michael Whinston, Professor of Economics, Sloan Fellows Professor of Management, Department of Economics and Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Moderators Deborah L. Feinstein, Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission Renata B. Hesse, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal and Civil Operations, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
| 5:45 p.m.–6:00 p.m. |
Closing Remarks Andrew I. Gavil, Director, Office of Policy Planning, Federal Trade Commission Robert A. Potter, Chief, Legal Policy Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice |
The views expressed at the Workshop do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission.
Public Comments
The Department of Justice and the FTC welcomed written comments from the public. The deadline for submitting public comments was September 22, 2014. The comment period is now closed.
CPPW-0001 Donna Marie Johnson
CPPW-0002 Alan Weinschel
CPPW-0003 Nicholas Economides
CPPW-0004 Richard Steuer
CPPW-0005 Christopher Gildemeister
CPPW-0006 Robinson
CPPW-0007 Anonymous
CPPW-0008 Maritza Iliana Núñez Osorio (ICAM)
CPPW-0009 Richard Brunell (American Antitrust Institute)
CPPW-0010 Sean Heather (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
CPPW-0011 Timothy Cornell (Clifford Chance)
CPPW-0012 Joseph Farrell (University of California)
Privacy and confidentiality: Written submissions and the identity of the submitter may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed by publication and/or posting on the Department of Justice website, at the discretion of the Department of Justice. Information that is submitted in connection with this event cannot be maintained as confidential by the Department of Justice. Written submissions should not include any information that the submitting person seeks to preserve as private or confidential.