I am very concerned that we may headed into a new era of Brandeisian populist antitrust policy that will make the US economy more inflationary and less resilient.
The statements on policy coming from @FTC & @TheJusticeDept better reflect legal doctrines of the 1960s than economic understandings of the last two decades. An Administration that prides itself on factual analysis and “looking at the science” is taking a non analytic approach.
Yes it is imperative to promote competition and yes there are many errors in the Bork/Chicago bias in favor of any market outcome.
But attacks on “largeness on its own terms”, increases in the market share of industry leaders without regard to their efficiency, shrinkage of small business market shares, private equity ownership, or destruction of communities are presumptively problematic.
There are real risks. Policies that attack bigness can easily be inflationary if they prevent the exploitation of economies of scale or limit superstar firms. Likewise, policy focused on protecting competitors or communities or limiting layoffs are likely to raise costs & prices
Policies that attack vertical integration or limit contracting between firms and their suppliers and distributors may reduce efficiency and, by lengthening supply chains, reduce resilience.
We need more focus on tariffs and other trade restrictions which undermine competition raise prices and reduce resilience in products ranging from gas at the pump to baby formula and automobiles to new homes.
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