Gus Hurwitz replies to Jonathan Masur and Eric Posner’s May 8 article defending the Federal Trade Commission’s Congressional mandate to enforce a rule banning noncompetes. He argues that Congressional responses to FTC rulemaking in the 1970s suggest courts are unlikely to find that the FTC possesses such authority, either as a matter of statutory interpretation or under the major questions doctrine.
Drawing on their research, John Kwoka and Tommaso Valletti refute criticisms of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster that argue such actions irreparably ruin the operations of the constituent firms. The authors highlight the many examples of successful breakups and conclude that only a breakup will now repair the market for live entertainment.
Max von Thun writes that Enrico Letta, Mario Draghi, and Emmanuel Macron are right in demanding a new economic vision for the European Union. However, they are wrong to advocate for corporate consolidation as part of the solution. The EU must pursue competition rather than consolidation if it is to create a robust political economy that can take back power from corporate behemoths, deliver growth and jobs to European citizens, and guarantee the future of the European project.
The following is a transcript of Randy Picker's conversation with Tim Wu on how antitrust shaped competition and innovation in computers and chips, held at the 2024 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference.
Vikas Kathuria evaluates India’s new ex-ante framework to regulate digital markets. He assesses its divergences from Europe’s archetypal Digital Markets Act and the characteristics of India’s political economy that explain these differences.
The following is a transcript of Eric Posner and Carl Shapiro's debate on the proper role of economics in merger review at the 2024 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference.
The following is a transcript of Guy Rolnik's conversation with Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter and Chair Lina Khan at the 2024 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference.
The upcoming European elections will determine the next European Parliament, but the real competition for the EU's economic future lies in the debate between two competing visions, writes Stefano Feltri. One vision, represented by Emmanuel Macron and Mario Draghi, calls for a radical departure from the EU's traditional approach to prioritize strategic autonomy and industrial policy, while the other, championed by Enrico Letta, argues for strengthening the single market and addressing its shortcomings to shape globalization and ensure security through fair competition.
In new research, Wentian Zhang finds that a reduction in antitrust enforcement causes venture capitalists to significantly decrease their investments in startups, leading to fewer startups going public and diminished innovation.