Twenty Years of Federal Trade Commission Merger Enforcement Activity (1985-2004)

Abstract

The Hart Scott Rodino program, coupled with the modern Merger Guidelines has structured merger enforcement for the last twenty years. This paper reviews all of the filings on which the Commission issued a second request. While horizontal mergers predominate, vertical, potential competition and monopsony cases have been observed in the sample. Over the years, the Commission has studied a broad range of industries, including branded consumer products, chemicals, hospitals, drugs, oil and retailing. Some evolution in the theories of concern can be observed, along with minor changes in policy on efficiencies. A statistical model is given to predict the outcomes of matters that appear to be very close calls.

Keywords: Merger Guidelines, antitrust, competition policy, federal trade commission

JEL Classification: K21, L40