Microsoft Corp's economic expert in its antitrust remedy trial has been a paid consultant for the company for four to five years.And all his research on the software industry since the 1998 case began has been paid for at least in part by Microsoft. Those facts about economist Kevin Murphy were revealed in questioning Wednesday by an attorney for nine states pursuing the case in federal court. Murphy, aeconomist, is the second witness called by Microsoft in its defense. Under questioning by attorney Steven Kuney, Murphy acknowledged that he had published no articles on the economics of the software industry prior to 1998. Instead, the primary thrust of his research had been labor economics.
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