Back to School: What the Chicago School and New Brandeis School Get Right

Abstract

The New Brandeis School renews debate on two fundamental antitrust policy questions: 1) what source of wisdom or set of values should inform antitrust rules; and 2) what criterion should govern antitrust case adjudication. In our view, the Chicago School’s answer to the first question was right; economics, rather than populist politics, should guide the formulation of antitrust rules. On the second question, we agree with the New Brandeis School that US antitrust is too focused on bottom-line indicators of market performance; the result has been to make antitrust both more complex and less effective in protecting competition.

Keywords: Antitrust Policy, Brandeis, Consumer Welfare, Chicago School

JEL Classification: K21, L40