Lorin Hitt is an expert in applied econometrics who works on a broad range of antitrust, product liability, and intellectual property matters. He studies the role of information and information technology in pricing and product strategy decisions, competition, market structure, and consumer behavior.
Professor Hitt’s research focuses on how information and technology create economic value; how goods and services are priced; how competition works in information-intensive industries and online markets; and how consumers search and use information in their decision-making, among other topics. In his research, Professor Hitt utilizes a variety of empirical methods to estimate demand and supply, measure the effect of external events on market prices, and value individual product features in differentiated products.
Professor Hitt has substantial experience addressing class certification, damages, and liability issues. His expertise includes analyzing market data and evaluating proposed empirical methods such as hedonic price analyses, difference-in-differences regression analyses, and conjoint analyses. He has testified in high-profile antitrust, product liability, data privacy, data breach, and intellectual property matters, such as:
- Epic v. Apple, a matter involving Apple’s App Store, which Global Competition Review (GCR) recognized as its 2022 Matter of the Year and Litigation of the Year – Non-Cartel Defence
- Earl et al. v. Boeing and Southwest, in which the Fifth Circuit de-certified the proposed class on appeal
- Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Litigation (Nemet et al. v. Volkswagen), in which the judge dismissed the case, finding the plaintiffs’ analyses to be unreliable and inadmissible due to critical flaws that Professor Hitt identified
- Johannessohn et al. v. Polaris Industries Inc.
- In Re TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation
- Stragent LLC et al. v. Intel Corp.
Professor Hitt’s research has been published in leading economics and management journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Management Science, and Information Systems Research.
At the Wharton School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Hitt has taught courses on competition and customer pricing, information systems management, the economics of technology, and data analysis. He has won the annual Wharton Undergraduate Teaching Award more than ten times, and he has also been honored with the Wharton-wide Hauck Award and the University of Pennsylvania-wide Lindback Award for distinguished teaching.
Advanced Telematics, AI, Data Privacy, Mobility: The Legal and Economic Implications of High Tech and Artificial Intelligence
Expert Forum: Cracking the Commonalities and Differences in Data Breach and Data Privacy Cases
- Ciccio et al. v. SmileDirectClub LLC et al.
- In re Oracle Corporation Derivative Litigation
- MacKinnon v. Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. et al.
- Nemet et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc. et al.
- Invasion of Privacy Consumer Class Action
- Johannessohn et al. v. Polaris Industries Inc.
- Energy Labeling of a Household Appliance
- Power Ratings of a Household Appliance Manufacturer’s Product
- Stragent LLC et al. v. Intel Corp.