Experts examine the application of economic theory to antitrust issues in both the United States and Europe, discussing mergers, agreements, abuses of dominance, and the impact of market features.

Over the past twenty years, economic theory has begun to play a central role in antitrust matters. In earlier days, the application of antitrust rules was viewed almost entirely in formal terms; now it is widely accepted that the proper interpretation of these rules requires an understanding of how markets work and how firms can alter their efficient functioning. The Handbook of Antitrust Economics offers scholars, students, administrators, courts, companies, and lawyers the economist's view of the subject, describing the application of newly developed theoretical models and improved empirical methods to antitrust and competition law in both the United States and the European Union. (The book uses the U.S. term “antitrust law” and the European “competition law” interchangeably, emphasizing the commonalities between the two jurisdictions.)

After a general discussion of the use of empirical methods in antitrust cases, the Handbook covers mergers, agreements, abuses of dominance (or unilateral conducts), and market features that affect the way firms compete. Chapters examine such topics as analyzing the competitive effects of both horizontal and vertical mergers, detecting and preventing cartels, theoretical and empirical analysis of vertical restraints, state aids, the relationship of competition law to the defense of intellectual property, and the application of antitrust law to “bidding markets,” network industries, and two-sided markets.

Contributors
Mark Armstrong, Jonathan B. Baker, Timothy F. Bresnahan, Paulo Buccirossi, Nicholas Economides, Hans W. Friederiszick, Luke M. Froeb, Richard J. Gilbert, Joseph E. Harrington, Jr., Paul Klemperer, Kai-Uwe Kuhn, Francine Lafontaine, Damien J. Neven, Patrick Rey, Michael H. Riordan, Jean-Charles Rochet, Lars-Hendrick Röller, Margaret Slade, Giancarlo Spagnolo, Jean Tirole, Thibaud Vergé, Vincent Verouden, John Vickers, Gregory J. Werden

About the Author

Paolo Buccirossi is Director and Founder of Lear, a research center and an economics consulting firm in Rome, and has worked as an economic advisor at the Italian Competition Authority.

Joseph E. Harrington, Jr., is Patrick T. Harker Professor in the Department of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Sir John Vickers is Drummond Professor of Political Economy at Oxford University.

Mark Armstrong is Professor of Economics and Director of the ESRC Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE). He is a Fellow of the British Academy, Co-editor of the RAND Journal of Economics, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Review of Economic Studies.

Richard J. Gilbert is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. He worked as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economics in the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division from 1993 to 1995.

Jean-Charles Rochet is Professor of Mathematics and Economics at the University of Toulouse School of Economics.

Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel Laureate in Economics, is Scientific Director of IDEI (Institut d'Economie Industrielle), Chairman of the Board of TSE (Toulouse School of Economics), and Annual Visiting Professor of Economics at MIT.

Contents Introduction 1. Economic Evidence in Antitrust: Defining Markets and Measuring Market Power (Jonathan B. Baker and Timothy F. Bresnahan) 2. Unilateral Competitive Effects of Horizontal Mergers (Gregory J. Werden and Luke M. Froeb) 3. The Coordinated Effects of Mergers (Kai-Uwe Kuhn) 4. Competitive Effects of Vertical Integration (Michael H. Riordan) 5. The Analysis of Conglomerate Effects in EU Merger Control (Damien J. Neven) 6. Detecting Cartels (Joseph E. Harrington, Jr.) 7. Leniency and Whistleblowers in Antitrust (Giancarlo Spagnolo) 8. Facilitating Practices (Paolo Buccirossi) 9. The Economics of Vertical Restraints (Patrick Rey and Thibaud Vergé) 10. Exclusive Contracts and Vertical Restraints: Empirical Evidence and Public Policy (Francine Lafontaine and Margaret Slade) 11. Abuse of Market Power (John Vickers) 12. Price Discrimination (Mark Armstrong) 13. Public Policy in Network Industries (Nicholas Economides) 14. Competition Policy for Intellectual Property (Richard J. Gilbert) 15. Competition Policy in Two-Sided Markets, with a Special Emphasis on Payment Cards (Jean-Charles Rochet and Jean Tirole) 16. Competition Policy in Auction and Bidding Markets (Paul Klemperer) 17. European State Aid Control: An Economic Framework (Hans W. Friederiszick, Lars-Hendrick Röller and Vincent Verouden)