Antitrust and Competition

Antitrust Deregulation is Undermining Innovation

A 2000 amendment to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act made it easier for firms to merge without notifying US antitrust authorities. In new research,...

The FTC’s Non-Compete Ban Will Force Questions Over the Scope of its Authority

To understand why a proposed rule could spark a Supreme Court battle over the Federal Trade Commission’s powers to regulate the American...

Survey Highlights Backlash to Increasingly Political Corporate America

A recent poll shows that 71% of Americans view large companies negatively. The change has been driven by Republicans who dislike the...

The Paramount Decrees and the Deregulation of Hollywood Studios

A landmark antitrust decision on Hollywood will sunset this year, paving the way for more major studios to overpower independent producers and...

Antitrust Misunderstands Innovation. This Is How We Fix It.

Antitrust misunderstands innovation by focusing almost entirely on incentives to innovate to the neglect of questions regarding the ability to innovate through...

Too Many Economists Are Using a Flawed Theory To Defend Dominant Platforms’ Self-Preferencing Practices

Congress is currently considering two major bills that would regulate “self-preferencing” and related conduct by dominant digital platforms. Criticism of these bills...

Unfair Methods of Competition

The FTC’s new policy on unfair methods of competition is an assertion of the original purpose of the agency, allowing it to...

Why Disruptive Innovation Has Declined Since 2000

Traditional accounts of the growing power of large firms implicate antitrust or political corruption. But in a recent book, economist James Bessen...

How the Wrong Presumptions Led to the Wrong Conclusions in the United/Change Healthcare Merger

On Sept. 19, a federal judge approved UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of Change Healthcare over the concerns of the U.S. Department of Justice....

Understanding the Virtues of the Robinson-Patman Act Requires Understanding When It Is Most Effective

The literature on the benefits of the Robinson-Patman Act for consumer welfare is often contradictory. Professors Roman Inderst and Tommaso Valletti argue...

Latest news

Mobile Internet Is Changing Employment in Developing Countries, but Not Always as Expected

Scholars and policymakers have put much faith into the prospect of internet connectivity catalyzing development in low- and middle-income countries. In new...

Biden’s Second-Best Economic Agenda

Efficiency is out and political economy is in. But what does that imply about making good policy?

The Fed and Bank Failures

Viral Acharya and Raghuram Rajan explain how quantitative easing contributed to the problems underlying the recent bank failures such as that of...

Self-Preferencing Theories Need To Account for Exploitative Abuse

Patrice Bougette, Oliver Budzinski, and Frédéric Marty argue in their research that antitrust authorities on both sides of the Atlantic must take...

Startup Acquisitions Have Undecided Effects on Innovation and Economic Growth

Startups are a major driver of innovation, but many startups are acquired by large incumbents. Do these acquisitions stifle innovation or promote...

History Shows that Voluntary ESG Standards Lead to a More Focused ESG Disclosure

In recent years, ESG reports have become more common for publicly traded companies. However, critics have found the information they provide to...

Letters that Matter: How Interest Groups Shape Financial Legislation

Members of Congress are inundated with an avalanche of correspondence on a daily basis. But what persuades them to heed the call?...