Obama's Antitrust Agenda

Abstract:     
President Obama has vowed to reinvigorate U.S. antitrust enforcement, returning it to the “big is bad” legal philosophy of the early-20th century. That philosophy was displaced in mid-century by “Chicago school” legal theories that concluded that many business activities opposed by pre-Chicago law were actually good for consumers, incentivizing efficiency and lowering prices. In the past two decades, Chicago theories have been challenged by “post-Chicago” theories that, while accepting many of Chicago’s fundamental insights, assert that Chicago is overly permissive. Despite this clash between Chicago and post-Chicago thought in both academia and the judiciary, Obama’s antitrust goals are unlikely to succeed, as both Chicago and post-Chicago are highly skeptical of pre-Chicago views.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 6

Keywords: antitrust, Sherman Act

JEL Classification: D42, K21, L12, L40, L43

Accepted Paper Series