Section 2 and Article 82: A Comparison of American and European Approaches to Monopolization Law

Abstract

This paper provides a general overview of the differences between American and European monopolization law. American courts have taken a relatively conservative approach toward monopolization law, in the sense of showing reluctance to penalize a firm simply because of its monopoly status, and of allowing wide scope, at least at the level of pure legal doctrine, for efficiency defenses to be asserted. Europe, in comparison, has taken an interventionist approach. Error-cost analysis provides a justification for the American approach. A preliminary empirical examination suggests that the scope of a country's monopolization law is inversely related its degree of trade dependence.

Keywords: Article 82 of the European Community Treaty, Sherman Act Section 2, monopolization law, American monopolization law, European monopolization law, error-cost analysis, scope of a country's monopolization law, degree of trade dependence

JEL Classification: K00, K21, K33