The Antitrust Paradigm: Restoring a Competitive Economy

369 Pages·2019·2.879 MB·English

by  Jonathan B. Baker

THE ANTITRUST PARADIGM
The Antitrust Paradigm
Restoring a Competitive Economy
Jonathan B. Baker
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
2019
The Antitrust Paradigm
Restoring a Competitive Economy
Jonathan B. Baker
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
2019
Copyright © 2019 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
First printing
Jacket design: Jill Breitbarth
9780674238954 (EPUB)
9780674238961 (MOBI)
9780674238947 (PDF)
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Baker, Jonathan B., author.
Title: The antitrust paradigm : restoring a competitive economy / Jonathan B. Baker.
Description: Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts : Harvard University Press, 2019. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018039448 | ISBN 9780674975781 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Antitrust law— Economic aspects— United States. | Competition— United
States. | United States— Economic policy. | United States— Economic conditions—1945–
Classification: LCC HD3616.U47 B33 2019 | DDC 338.8/20973— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2018039448
To Susan, Danny, and Alex

Contents
Introduction 1
I. The Market Power Paroxysm and the Antitrust Paradigm 9
1. Market Power in an Era of Antitrust 11
2. The Faltering Po liti cal Consensus Supporting Antitrust 32
3. Preventing the Po liti cal Misuse of Antitrust 53
4. Recalibrating Error Costs and Presumptions 71
5. Erroneous Arguments against Enforcement 81
II. Antitrust Rules and the Information Economy 97
6. Inferring Agreement and Algorithmic Coordination 99
7. Exclusionary Conduct by Dominant Platforms 119
8. Threats to Innovation from Lessened Competition 150
9. Harms to Suppliers, Workers, and Platform Users 176
III. Looking Forward 195
10. Restoring a Competitive Economy 197
Notes 211
References 301
Acknowl edgments 337
Index 339