Volume II of this two-volume set delves into the economic efficiency and ethical implications of antitrust policies. It examines different types of conduct that fall under antitrust scrutiny and evaluates potential government responses, with a focus on the frameworks established by US and EU antitrust laws. The analysis offers insights into how these regulations impact market dynamics and consumer welfare.
Focusing on antitrust policy, this volume examines the economic efficiency and ethical implications of different tests for antitrust legality. It provides a critical analysis of the frameworks established by both US and EU antitrust laws, offering insights into their effectiveness and moral considerations. This foundational text sets the stage for a deeper understanding of antitrust issues in the context of legal and economic theory.
Focusing on the implications of The General Theory of Second Best, this book introduces a novel economic-efficiency-analysis protocol that emphasizes distinct categories of economic inefficiency often overlooked in traditional analyses. It evaluates how various policies and conduct affect these inefficiencies by assessing their impact on profitability versus economic efficiency. Additionally, it advocates for research projects only when their potential efficiency gains outweigh execution costs. The book illustrates its protocol through specific policy analyses, highlighting its unique conclusions compared to standard economic evaluations.
Focusing on the inefficiencies overlooked by traditional anti-trust analysis, this work introduces a 'distortion-analysis' approach. It effectively applies second-best theory to evaluate the economic efficiency of business practices regulated by anti-trust law, offering a fresh perspective on the complexities of market behavior and regulation.
Vol. I operationalizes the specific-anticompetitive-intent and lessening-competition tests of illegality under U.S. and E.U. antitrust law, along with the distorting-competition and exploitative-abuse-of-dominant-position tests from E.U. law. It distinguishes these from an economic-inefficiency test of illegality, lists antitrust categories of profits, and develops systems for analyzing conduct’s impact on competition in price and quality. The volume argues that definitions of economic and antitrust markets are inherently arbitrary and critiques various market-definition protocols proposed by scholars and officials. It explains the inadequacy of market-oriented approaches to assessing a firm’s economic power or conduct’s antitrust illegality, analyzes the profitability of oligopolistic and predatory conduct, and proposes protocols for determining illegal conduct while critiquing existing scholarly and official methods. It also examines U.S. and E.U. case law and the European Commission’s stance on predatory conduct. Vol. II employs non-market-oriented approaches to assess the legality of various mergers and collaborative arrangements under antitrust law, analyzes the competitive impact of rules allowing vertical conduct among rivals, reviews relevant case law, and discusses the positions of U.S. DOJ, FTC, and the European Commission on these matters. The volume concludes with a comparison of U.S. and E.U. antitrust law as writ
Focusing on the arbitrary nature of market definitions, the book delves into the concepts of 'oligopolistic' and 'predatory' business practices, examining their profitability. It critiques the market-oriented strategies employed by law enforcement in the US and EU, highlighting the limitations of current regulatory frameworks. Through this analysis, the publication offers insights into the complexities of market behavior and the implications for legal enforcement.
