Event: E-Commerce Symposium

What do contact lenses, wine, and caskets all have in common? Online sales of these products have been heavily regulated online, often because bricks-and-mortar incumbents have lobbied for laws that protect them from Internet-based competition. New research on this topic will be presented at a daylong symposium presented by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, in collaboration with the George Mason University School of Law. Legal and economic scholars will present papers on topics such as the current status of legal and regulatory barriers, their impact on consumers, and their implications for competitive federalism. Ken Starr will give the keynote address. Check out the full agenda after the jump.

The event will take place on Wednesday, May 24th, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the George Mason University Arlington campus. For more information and to RSVP, visit the event page.

8:00-8:30 a.m.
Registration
Room 329, Hazel Hall

8:30-8:45
Welcome and Introductions

8:45-9:30 a.m.
Keynote address

“The Commerce Clause and E-Commerce”
Kenneth Starr, Dean, Pepperdine University School of Law

9:30-10:45 a.m.
Panel 1: Autos

“Benefits and Barriers to Internet Auto Sales”
Debra Holt, Federal Trade Commission

“The Future of State Auto Franchising”
John Delacourt, Kelley Drye Collier Shannon

10:45-11:00 a.m.
Break

11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Panel 2: Caskets

“Buried Online: State Limitations on Internet Casket Sales”
Asheesh Agarwal, US Department of Justice

“Casket Sales Restrictions and Funeral Costs”
Dan Sutter, Oklahoma State University

12:15-1:45 p.m.
Lunch

“Rent Erosion and the Commerce Clause”
Michael Greve, American Enterprise Institute

2:00-3:15 p.m.
Panel 3: Wine

“The Economics of Direct Wine Shipping”
Alan Wiseman and Jerry Ellig, Ohio State University and Mercatus Center, George Mason University

“What Next in the Wine Wars?”
James Tanford, Indiana University School of Law

3:30-4:45 p.m.
Panel 4: Empirical Analysis of E-Commerce

“Public versus Private Restraints on Internet Distribution of Contact Lenses: A Distinction that Makes a Difference”
James Cooper, Federal Trade Commission

“Real Estate Brokerage and E-Commerce: A Framework for Empirical Analysis”
Rick Geddes, Cornell University

5:00 p.m.
Symposium Concludes

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