Terry Calvani of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP reviews “European Antitrust Law: Prohibitions, Merger Control and Procedures” by Lorenzo Federico Pace,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Examines current European Community antitrust and merger control rules in their historical context, considering both the economic foundations and guiding principles of the law. Discusses cartels and the process of European integration; European antitrust powers; Article 81 EC; Article 82 EC; Articles 81 and 82 EC applied to the member states; vertical aspects of European antitrust law; the bodies and institutions of the European antitrust enforcement system; the antitrust enforcement system established by the European Community Treaty; the antitrust enforcement system established by Regulation 1/03; European merger control; and the merger control system established by Regulation 139/04. Pace is Associate Professor of European Union Law at the University of Camerino. Bibliography; index

In the last decade, economists have produced a considerable body of research suggesting that the historical origin of a country's laws is highly correlated with a broad range of its legal rules and regulations, as well as with economic outcomes. We summarize this evidence and attempt a unified interpretation. We also address several objections to the empirical claim that legal origins matter. Finally, we assess the implications of this research for economic reform

Christopher Maxwell of Boston College reviews “The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments on the Sports Business” by Andrew Zimbalist,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores the basic dilemmas and dynamics of the sports industry. Focuses on team management, finances, and value; league structure, design, and performance; stadiums--financing, mega-events, and economic development; antitrust and labor relations; college sports and gender equity; and media and the regulation of steroids. Zimbalist is Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. Index

Sara Markowitz of Emory University reviews “Paying the Tab: The Economics of Alcohol Policy” by Philip J. Cook,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Presents an analysis of the complex policy issue of alcohol control. Discusses a brief history of the supply side; the alcoholism movement; drinking--a primer; prices and quantities; alcohol control as injury prevention; long-term effects--hearts and minds; the tendency of drinkers to earn more than those who abstain; evaluating interventions; regulating supply; taxing the alcohol industry; youth as a special case; and alcohol-control policy for the twenty-first century. Cook is Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Duke University. Index

Catherine D. Wolfram of University of California, Berkeley reviews “The Unsustainable Costs of Partial Deregulation” by Paul W. MacAvoy,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Assesses the results of deregulation in the United States over the last thirty years and analyzes whether deregulation has achieved any of its stated goals in the electricity, gas delivery, and telecommunications industries. Discusses an introduction to network technology and market structure; the regulation of networks; electric and gas network performance and partial deregulation; the strategic response of Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation to partial deregulation during the California power crisis; the long distance telephone networks and partial deregulation; and the singular result of partial deregulation and what can be done. MacAvoy is Williams Brothers Professor Emeritus of Management Studies at Yale University. Bibliography; index

Robert M. Stern of University of Michigan reviews “Case Studies in US Trade Negotiation. Volume 2. Resolving Disputes” by Charan Devereaux, Robert Z. Lawrence, Michael D. Watkins,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Examines the debate surrounding the nature and effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational corporations (MNCs), and analyzes these phenomena in order to resolve the long-standing stalemate. Discusses a better approach to understanding FDI and MNCs; defining the subject--subtleties and ambiguities; from obscurity to international economic powerhouse--the evolution of MNCs; heterogeneity--the many kinds of FDI and MNCs and their disparate effects; perceptions and economic ideologies; why companies invest overseas; where MNCs invest and don't invest, and why; effects of FDI on less developed countries--vagaries, variables, negatives, and positives; why and how MNCs have altered international trade; MNCs versus the nation-state--whether sovereignty has been outsourced; the international regulation of MNCs--why there is no multilateral FDI regime; the case for FDI and MNCs; the case against FDI and MNCs; an agnostic conclusion--“it depends”; and an agenda for future action. Cohen is Professor in the School of International Service at American University. Index

Ronald B. Davies of University College Dublin reviews “Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment: Avoiding Simplicity, Embracing Complexity” by Stephen D. Cohen,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Examines the debate surrounding the nature and effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and multinational corporations (MNCs), and analyzes these phenomena in order to resolve the long-standing stalemate. Discusses a better approach to understanding FDI and MNCs; defining the subject--subtleties and ambiguities; from obscurity to international economic powerhouse--the evolution of MNCs; heterogeneity--the many kinds of FDI and MNCs and their disparate effects; perceptions and economic ideologies; why companies invest overseas; where MNCs invest and don't invest, and why; effects of FDI on less developed countries--vagaries, variables, negatives, and positives; why and how MNCs have altered international trade; MNCs versus the nation-state--whether sovereignty has been outsourced; the international regulation of MNCs--why there is no multilateral FDI regime; the case for FDI and MNCs; the case against FDI and MNCs; an agnostic conclusion--“it depends”; and an agenda for future action. Cohen is Professor in the School of International Service at American University. Index

Robert E. Wright of New York University reviews “Political Institutions and Financial Development” by Stephen Haber, Douglass C. North, Barry R. Weingast,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Nine papers examine why some countries develop better financial systems than others, focusing on the importance of a country's political institutions in this development. Papers discuss political institutions and financial development--evidence from the political economy of bank regulation in Mexico and the United States (Stephen Haber); the political economy of early U.S. financial development (Richard Sylla); what the World Bank can learn from American history (John Joseph Wallis); the move beyond legal origin and checks and balances--political credibility, citizen information, and financial sector development (Philip Keefer); the microeconomic effects of different approaches to bank supervision (James R. Barth, Gerard Caprio, and Ross Levine); political drivers of diverging corporate governance patterns (Peter Gourevitch and James Shinn); credible commitment and sovereign default risk--two bond markets and imperial Brazil (William R. Summerhill); legal origin versus the politics of creditor rights--bond markets in Brazil, 1850-2002 (Aldo Musacchio); and economics, political institutions, and financial markets (Douglass C. North and Mary M. Shirley). Haber is A. A. and Jeanne Welch Milligan Professor in the School of Humanities at Stanford University and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution. North is Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution. Weingast… Index