Antitrust Economics at a Time of Upheaval: Recent Competition Policy Cases on Two Continents

• Pages: 1-11

theantitrustsource

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www.antitrustsource.com

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February 2024

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David Eggert is a

Professor of Practice

at Washington and Lee

School of Law where

he teaches among

other things antitrust

law and was previously

a partner in Arnold

& Porter’s antitrust

practice group.

Book Review

Antitrust Economics at a Time of Upheaval:

Recent Competition Policy Cases on Two Continents

Reviewed by David Eggert

Competition Policy International 2023

Antitrust Economics at a Time of Upheaval [hereinafter, Upheaval ] is a collection of eighteen essays

by economists discussing various antitrust matters, either investigations, government enforcement

actions, or lawsuits. These eighteen matters took place in either the United States, Europe, or (in a

few cases) both.1 The matters are helpfully grouped in three categories—eight merger matters, eight

monopolization/dominance matters, and two matters involving allegedly anticompetitive agreements.

Overall, the book is an excellent resource for demonstrating the economics perspectives of

government enforcers and their attempts to grapple with emerging issues concerning innovation,

the high-tech sector, and the proper role of antitrust in society. Before discussing in detail the case

studies in the book, with a particular focus on a few of them, this review begins with a few general

comments.

First, the very concept of the book—a compendium by economists about the economics behind

antitrust matters—serves as a powerful demonstration of the extent to which antitrust law has

been dominated by economics. Although the United States side of the Atlantic has been hardest

hit, the effect in both the United States and Europe is unmistakable. On both sides of the Atlantic,

economic concepts once played second fiddle (or no fiddle at all) in many antitrust cases. This

rise of economic thought in antitrust law is arguably traceable to the University of Chicago revolu-

tion led initially by academics and perhaps best remembered by Robert Bork’s famous tome, The

Antitrust Paradox. As the authors note in the introduction, “this ultimately shifted antitrust from a

largely legal doctrine to an economic efficiency-oriented policy.” But the “new economic learning”

reflected in Upheaval is largely a reaction to the Bork revolution and reflects a more nuanced eco-

nomics of a somewhat different sort. In contrast to Bork’s work, which largely supported a “keep-

the- government’s-hands–off-of-business” approach to antitrust enforcement, the new economic

learning develops an economic basis for more robust antitrust enforcement. But the very fact that

economists are writing a book to advocate views that are more enforcement-oriented than those

1 One point to consider is whether this near-total focus on the United States and Europe is appropriate in an age where well over 100 nations

from around the globe have competition laws. Decisions from other jurisdictions—ranging from Japan, Korea, China, and India to South

Africa, Brazil and numerous other countries—are growing in significance and often offer unique perspectives that will enrich our under-

standing of the possibilities and limits of antitrust law.

Edited by John Kwoka, Tommaso Valletti, and Lawrence White

Antitrust Economics at a Time of Upheaval:

Recent Competition Policy Cases on Two Continents

First, the very concept

of the book—a

compendium by

economists about the

economics behind

antitrust matters—

serves as a powerful

demonstration of

the extent to which

antitrust law has

been dominated by

economics.