Showing archive for: “Efficiencies”
Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
Antitrust should center on dynamic market forces that drive major technological change, rather than on static “big is bad” market analysis, based on the work of the 2025 economics Nobel Prize winners. Antitrust enforcers in the United States and around the world could benefit by incorporating these insights into their policy development. Focus on Dynamic ... Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
Will Brazil Subtly Sweep Consumer Welfare Under the Rug?
Brazil’s long-anticipated Bill 4,675/2025, which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government submitted last month to Congress, proposes to enact ex-ante regulation for digital markets (I offered an initial assessment here). While presented as a natural evolution of competition law, the proposal would instead alter some foundational aspects of the Brazilian antitrust framework. The measure ... Will Brazil Subtly Sweep Consumer Welfare Under the Rug?
The More Things Change: Exits, Reversals, and the Revolving Door
I’d like to begin with a tip of the hat to my former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) colleague Tara Koslov, who recently announced her retirement from the FTC after more than 28 years of service. Tara and I agreed on much, but far from everything. Heck, I have it on good authority that she hated ... The More Things Change: Exits, Reversals, and the Revolving Door
M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
The federal antitrust agencies appear to be easing up on merger enforcement, ditching a Biden administration policy of discouraging mergers. This change in direction could promote enhanced American innovation and economic growth. M&A Economic Benefits Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) generate various major economic benefits: They reallocate badly managed commercial assets to higher-valued uses, raising business ... M&A Enforcement Easing Under the Trump Administration
The DOJ May Consider Dropping Its HPE-Juniper Networks Merger Challenge
The U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) challenge to HPE’s proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks signals a concerning trend in merger enforcement that could undermine American economic vitality in a crucial high-tech sector. While regulatory scrutiny of consolidations is vital, a blanket skepticism toward merger activity—particularly one that overlooks significant procompetitive benefits—risks stifling innovation and weakening the very ... The DOJ May Consider Dropping Its HPE-Juniper Networks Merger Challenge
The State of US Merger Policy and the Pending HPE/Juniper Trial
Now that the dust has settled on President Donald Trump’s antitrust appointments, we are witnessing greater clarity on the new administration’s priorities and focus. Despite the hand wringing over content moderation and tech-censorship inquiries, what may be missed are substantial changes that are happening in merger policy and enforcement. While not as headline grabbing as ... The State of US Merger Policy and the Pending HPE/Juniper Trial
Can Antitrust Promote Competitiveness?
The major Western industrialized nations have experienced dramatically slower economic growth in recent decades. This slowdown has been particularly pronounced in the EU, though the United States has suffered, as well. Regulatory, tax, trade, and energy policy reforms that reduce market distortions and provide incentives for investment, production, and innovation could substantially address this problem. Recalibrating antitrust law (called ... Can Antitrust Promote Competitiveness?
The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis
In a recent memo to staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Chairman Andrew Ferguson explained that they should continue using the merger guidelines that the FTC and U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division adopted jointly in 2023. Ferguson’s memo noted that “the clear lesson of history is that we should prize stability” in merger policy. ... The FTC Shouldn’t Turn Back the Clock on Merger Analysis
Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
The Biden administration’s federal antitrust regulators—the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—have been widely perceived as actively discouraging mergers and acquisitions. This reflects the rejection of a longstanding bipartisan understanding that government would only oppose proposed M&A transactions that are likely to harm competition. The Biden approach arguably threatens to harm the ... Why It May Be Time to Consider a Merger Policy Reset in 2025
Draghi Report Highlights Why to Be Wary of the ‘Brussels Effect’
Everyone in Europe, and across the international competition-law sphere, seems to have their own interpretation these days of former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s recent report “The Future of European Competitiveness” (a.k.a., the “Draghi report”). And, of course, those various interpretations, unsurprisingly, inevitably match the interpreter’s policy preferences. This is ... Draghi Report Highlights Why to Be Wary of the ‘Brussels Effect’
A Primer (and Some Questions) About the RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and several states filed suit late last month against the property-management software firm RealPage Inc. for its “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing and to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments.” While this is not the first case ... A Primer (and Some Questions) About the RealPage Antitrust Case
The View from Canada: A TOTM Q&A with Aaron Wudrick
Aaron, could you please tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in competition law and digital-competition regulation? I’m a lawyer by profession, but have taken a somewhat unconventional career path—I started as a litigator in a small general practice in my hometown outside Toronto, moved on to corporate law with ... The View from Canada: A TOTM Q&A with Aaron Wudrick
