Lectures on antitrust economics

Antitrust law regulates economic activity but differs in its operation from what is traditionally considered "regulation." Where regulation is often industry-specific and involves the direct setting of prices, product characteristics, or entry, antitrust law focuses more broadly on maintai...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Whinston, Michael Dennis
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press 2006
Series:Cairoli lecture series
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: MIT Press eBook Archive - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
LEADER 02994nmm a2200349 u 4500
001 EB002069335
003 EBX01000000000000001209425
005 00000000000000.0
007 cr|||||||||||||||||||||
008 220922 ||| eng
020 |a 9780262286046 
020 |a 0262286041 
020 |a 9781423790297 
020 |a 1423790294 
050 4 |a HD2758.5 
100 1 |a Whinston, Michael Dennis 
245 0 0 |a Lectures on antitrust economics  |h Elektronische Ressource  |c Michael D. Whinston 
260 |a Cambridge, Mass.  |b MIT Press  |c 2006 
300 |a xii, 249 pages  |b illustrations 
653 |a Antitrust law / Economic aspects / United States 
653 |a ECONOMICS/Microeconomics 
653 |a SOCIAL SCIENCES/Political Science/Public Policy & Law 
653 |a ECONOMICS/Political Economy 
041 0 7 |a eng  |2 ISO 639-2 
989 |b MITArchiv  |a MIT Press eBook Archive 
490 0 |a Cairoli lecture series 
028 5 0 |a 10.7551/mitpress/4185.001.0001 
776 |z 9780262232562 
776 |z 0262232561 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4185.001.0001?locatt=mode:legacy  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
082 0 |a 338.8/20973 
520 |a Antitrust law regulates economic activity but differs in its operation from what is traditionally considered "regulation." Where regulation is often industry-specific and involves the direct setting of prices, product characteristics, or entry, antitrust law focuses more broadly on maintaining certain basic rules of competition. In these lectures Michael Whinston offers an accessible and lucid account of the economics behind antitrust law, looking at some of the most recent developments in antitrust economics and highlighting areas that require further research. He focuses on three areas: price fixing, in which competitors agree to restrict output or raise price; horizontal mergers, in which competitors agree to merge their operations; and exclusionary vertical contracts, in which a competitor seeks to exclude a rival. Antitrust commentators widely regard the prohibition on price fixing as the most settled and economically sound area of antitrust. Whinston's discussion seeks to unsettle this view, suggesting that some fundamental issues in this area are, in fact, not well understood. In his discussion of horizontal mergers, Whinston describes the substantial advances in recent theoretical and empirical work and suggests fruitful directions for further research. The complex area of exclusionary vertical contracts is perhaps the most controversial in antitrust. The influential "Chicago School" cast doubt on arguments that vertical contracts could be profitably used to exclude rivals. Recent theoretical work, to which Whinston has made important contributions, instead shows that such contracts can be profitable tools for exclusion. Whinston's discussion sheds light on the controversy in this area and the nature of those recent theoretical contributions. Sponsored by the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella