Complexity-Minded Antitrust

Abstract

Complexity science permeates the policy spectrum but not antitrust. This is unfortunate. Complexity science provides a high-resolution screen on the empirical realities of markets. And it enables a rich understanding of competition, beyond the reductionist descriptions of markets and firms proposed by neoclassical models and their contemporary neo-Brandeisian critique. New insights arise from the key teachings of complexity science, like feedback loops and the role of uncertainty. The present article lays down the building blocks of a complexity-minded antitrust method.

Keywords: Complexity theory, antitrust, evolutionary economics, feedback loop, uncertainty, nonlinearity, neoclassical economics

JEL Classification: K21, K20, K00, L12, L10, L13, L22, L40, L41, L44, L43, L50, L51, B40, D11, D42