Does Antitrust Need to be Modernized?
Dennis W. Carlton, EAG 07-3, January 2007
Published in Journal of Economic Perspectives (2007).
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Abstract:
In 2002, Congress established the Antitrust Modernization Commission to address
whether the antitrust laws needed to be changed in light of globalization and rapid
technological change. This paper addresses that question. Although the basic framework
of the antitrust laws is suitable to deal with current economic conditions, the paper
identifies several areas where antitrust can be improved. The paper first examines whether
the proper criterion for antitrust should be total or consumer surplus. Then it identifies
some key issues that need to be clarified and explains how they should be clarified. Those
issues include market definition, merger policy and the treatment of efficiencies, the
interaction of antitrust and intellectual property, exclusionary conduct, the right of indirect
purchasers to sue, and the proper allocation of responsibility between regulation and
antitrust.