This paper presents a retrospective case study of merger efficiencies in the context of the merger of the Union Pacific Railroad Co. and the Southern Pacific Transportation Co., as approved by the Surface Transportation Board in 1996. There is sufficient information on the public record to permit some evaluation of merging parties' pre-merger efficiency claims, and to weigh these claims against regulatory and antitrust standards. The author also had access to public and certain normally non-public sources of information sufficient to permit at least a preliminary assessment of the extent to...

Identity theft happens when someone steals your personal information and uses it without your permission. It is a serious crime that can wreak havoc with your finances, credit history, and reputation - and it can take time, money, and patience to resolve. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, prepared this guide to help you repair the damage that identity theft can cause, and reduce the risk of identity theft happening to you. If you suspect that someone has stolen your identity, acting quickly is the best way to limit the damage. Setting things straight...

The FTC has been examining the privacy implications of mobile devices since 2000, in the form of workshops, law enforcement actions, consumer education, testimony, and policy reports. On May 30, 2012, the FTC held a workshop entitled "In Short: Advertising and Privacy Disclosures in a Digital World." The concluding panel at that workshop explored how privacy disclosures on mobile devices could be short, effective, and accessible to consumers. Based on more than a decade of work on mobile privacy issues and recent data obtained through panel discussions and comments, the Commission offers this...

Over the last 25 years, for-profit facilities have supplanted non-profits as the modal providers of hemodialysis treatment to American sufferers of end-stage renal disease. To understand what may underpin this dramatic change in industry structure, this paper uses a dynamic equilibrium model to develop intuition about how variation in different economic primitives might affect the evolution of industry structure. Subsequently, the paper exploits a comprehensive 20+ year panel dataset to examine entry, exit, and output patterns in relation to changes in demand and local market structure....