Professor Barry Nalebuff to Receive the Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award

Barry Nalebuff, the Milton Steinbach Professor of Management, will be presented with the fourth annual Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award for his article, “Exclusionary Bundling.” The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Antitrust Institute on June 21, 2006, in Washington, D.C.

The award honors writings that reflect a concern for principles of economic justice, the dispersal of economic power, the maintenance of effective limitations upon economic power, or the federal statutes designed to protect society from various forms of anticompetitive activity. The award, given by the Trustees of the Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Charitable Trust, includes a cash prize of approximately $9,500.

Professor Nalebuff’s article explains the concept of “exclusionary bundling.” Nalebuff describes how a firm with market power in one good can bundle it with another good, with anticompetitive results. Nalebuff compares exclusionary bundling with the practice of predatory pricing. Some of the undesirable effects of exclusionary bundling include a reduction in pricing transparency and inefficient choices by consumers.

Past recipients of this award include Patrick Bolton, Princeton University; Joseph F. Brodley, Boston University; Michael H. Riordan, Columbia University; John M. Connor, Purdue University; and Andrew Gavil, Howard University.

Jerry S. Cohen was a life-long advocate of economic justice. He made a reputation as Chief Counsel of Senator Philip Hart’s Judiciary Subcommittee for monopolies and antitrust. He co-wrote the best-selling books, America, Inc. and Power, Inc. After serving as Chief Counsel, he joined the law firm of Harold Kohn, a class action pioneer. Later, he was a founding partner in the law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld, & Toll of Washington, D.C., New York, and Seattle. Cohen specialized throughout his career in private enforcement of the antitrust laws and other measures designed to protect consumers, representing individuals and small businesses against the wealthy and powerful.