Harmful Output in the Antitrust Domain: Lessons from the Tobacco Industry

Abstract:     
Antitrust enforcement in net-harm industries - those whose output causes greater harms than benefits - can be socially harmful by increasing the output and consumption of socially undesirable goods. This article examines the tobacco industry as the paradigm of a net-harm industry. It argues that antitrust enforcers and courts need not be agnostic about the harms of the relevant output but can structure their antitrust review and enforcement decisions to conform to other public policy considerations regarding the harms of consumption in the relevant market.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 90

Keywords: Antitrust, tobacco, externalities

Accepted Paper Series