Antitrust Law: An Economic Perspective

“A creative, informative, and highly readable narrative….The book consists of four sections dealing in turn with (1) the law and economics of antitrust policy; (2) the problem of colllusion; (3) the question of exclusionary practices; and (4) the difficulties of enforcement…..This is a provocative work that judiciously raises pertinent questions about our antitrust policy.” – Robert J. Steamer, Perspective This searching critique of existing antitrust law also provides a blueprint for its overhaul. Richard Posner argues that the promotion of economic competition is thinly defensible rationale of antitrust law, this work demonstrates the revisions in conventional thinking about antitrust policy that are necessary if the economic purposes of that policy are to be taken seriously. Posner supports theory with fact as he summarizes the major developments in legal doctrine and in enforcement since the Sherman Act of 1890. He then examines a wide range of specific policy questions, including price fixing, mergers, concentrated industries, and others, showing in detail how the courts have erred in their analyses of business economics by their neglect of economic principles. Posner also considers how the remedies and procedures of antitrust law can be made more effective.