Florian Ederer

Join Fiona Scott Morton, a leading economist from Yale, Glen Weyl, founder of the RadicalxChange Foundation, and Florian Ederer, a market policy expert from BU, as they tackle the challenges of common ownership. They discuss how major investors shape competition, raise prices, and stifle innovation. The trio explores innovative solutions, critiques existing regulations, and emphasizes the need for shareholder voting reforms. They also confront political barriers in financial regulation, aiming for clearer ownership structures to benefit consumers.

Florian Ederer, an expert in antitrust and competition at BU Questrom, dives into the contentious issue of common ownership—where the same big investors hold stakes in competing companies. He explains how this phenomenon impacts competition and innovation, questioning whether these firms maintain their competitive edge or simply boost costs for consumers. Ederer also highlights the implications for income inequality, revealing the disproportionate benefits for wealthier investors. Regulation challenges and the future of market dynamics take center stage in this enlightening conversation.

In this conversation, Florian Ederer, an award-winning professor at Boston University, shares his groundbreaking insights on common ownership's impact on competition. He discusses how common ownership can weaken managerial incentives and lead to less competitive behavior in industries like airlines. The episode delves into the correlations between CEO compensation and ownership levels, revealing surprising findings about passive investors' influence on market dynamics. Ederer also addresses implications for antitrust policy, emphasizing the need for fresh approaches in this evolving landscape.