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Antitrust Energy, D. Daniel Sokol, Barak Orbach
Antitrust Energy, D. Daniel Sokol, Barak Orbach
D. Daniel Sokol
Marking the centennial anniversary of Standard Oil Co. v. United States, we argue that much of the critique of antitrust enforcement and the skepticism about its social significance suffer from “Nirvana fallacy” — comparing existing and feasible policies to ideal normative policies, and concluding that the existing and feasible ones are inherently inefficient because of their imperfections. Antitrust law and policy have always been and will always be imperfect. However, they are alive and kicking. The antitrust discipline is vibrant, evolving, and global. This essay introduces a number of important innovations in scholarship related to Standard Oil and its modern …
The Hidden Costs Of Free Goods: Implications For Antitrust Enforcement, Michal Gal, Daniel Rubinfeld
The Hidden Costs Of Free Goods: Implications For Antitrust Enforcement, Michal Gal, Daniel Rubinfeld
Michal Gal
Today a growing number of goods and services are provided in the marketplace free of charge; indeed, free or the appearance of free, have become part of our ecosystem. More often than not, free goods and services provide real benefits to consumers and are clearly pro-competitive. Yet free goods may also create significant costs. We show that despite the fact that the consumer does not pay a direct price, there are indirect prices that reflect the opportunity cost associated with the consumption of free goods. These indirect costs can be overt or covert, in the same market in which the …