Asymposium on the Implications of Recent Merger Litigation for Market Definition

• Author: Malcolm B. Coate,Kent Bernard
• DOI: 10.1177/0003603X1405900301
• Published date: 01 September 2014
• Date: 01 September 2014
• Subject Matter: Introduction

THE ANTITRUST BUL L E T I N :Vol. 59, N o. 3/Fall 2 014 :431

Asymposium on

the implications of

recent merger litigation

for market definition

BYMALCOLM B. COATE*AND KE NT BERNAR D**

This article provides an overview of the papers in the Antitrust

Bull eti n’s Market Definition symposium. Four styles of market

ana ly sis , ea ch re pr ese nt ed by a d if fer ent m er ger d ec isi on a re

presented, with two articles on each topic, one in general agreement

with the court case and the other providing alternative perspectives

for t he de cis io n. Si mpl e mod el s of co mpe tit io n suf fic e for t he

straightforward investigations; however, careful institutional analysis

is necessary to determine if the standard models implicit in the

Merger Guidelines can be directly applied in complicated cases. As

different economists often interpret data in different ways, antitrust

regulators must expect a range of perspectives to be presented in any

given case.

KEY WORDS:market definition, merger analysis, competition policy

© 2014by Federal Legal Publications, Inc.

* Economist, Federal Trade Commission.

** Adjunct Professor, FordhamUniversity of Law.

AUTHORS’ NOTE: The analyses and conclusions set forth in this issue are those of

the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission, any indi-

vidual Commissioner, or any Commission Bureau.