Lumps in Antitrust Law

Abstract

This paper uses the framework of aggregation and separation that Lee Fennell develops in Slices and Lumps to discuss two fundamental questions of antitrust policy. First, how far does the lumpiness of trading partners dictate the limits of antitrust policy? Second, what does antitrust miss under the common practice of lumping price, consumer welfare, and allocative efficiency together? Discussion of these questions is clarified and sharpened by the vocabulary of Fennell’s framework.

Keywords: Antitrust, Concentration, Consumer Welfare, Efficiency

JEL Classification: K21, L40