Lessons from the Financial Crisis

31 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2011 Last revised: 2 Mar 2011

See all articles by Maurice E. Stucke

Maurice E. Stucke

University of Tennessee College of Law

Date Written: December 30, 2010

Abstract

What lessons can we learn from the financial crisis concerning the issues of systemic risk, firms too big to fail, and the income inequality in the United States today?

In light of the public anger over the financial crisis and bailouts to firms deemed too big to fail, this Essay first addresses the issue of systemic risk posed by mergers generally and those in the financial services industries specifically. The federal government heard concerns in the 1990s about mega-mergers in the financial industry. The Department of Justice, for example, heard concerns that the Citibank-Travelers merger would create an institution too big to fail. But the government essentially discounted these concerns. This Essay argues that competition authorities must look beyond the mergers’ short-term impact on static price competition to better understand mergers’ potential long-run effects on the financial network’s health and stability.

As income inequality has increased over the past thirty years in the United States, this Essay discusses the political implications of concentrated economic power. The causes of income inequality, whether lax antitrust enforcement is a contributing factor, and whether income inequality can affect antitrust policy are all discussed.

Keywords: Income Inequality, Antitrust, Innovation, Monopolies, Too Big to Fail, Financial Crisis, Optimal Deterrence Theory

JEL Classification: K21, L41, L44, L40, D63

Suggested Citation

Stucke, Maurice E., Lessons from the Financial Crisis (December 30, 2010). Antitrust Law Journal , Vol. 77, No. 1, p. 31, 2010, University of Tennessee Legal Studies Research Paper No. 141, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1744869

Maurice E. Stucke (Contact Author)

University of Tennessee College of Law ( email )

1505 W. Cumberland Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37996
United States
865-974-9816 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.mauricestucke.com

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