Deep Dive 197 – Competition at a Crossroads: Will the Executive Order on Competition Advance Competition, or Restrict It?

RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

Protecting and preserving competition are the key objectives of U.S. antitrust laws, which are all phrased as prohibitions: on agreements "in restraint of trade," of mergers and acquisitions where the effect "may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly," and on "unfair methods of competition." In a July 2021 Executive Order, the Biden Administration directed agencies to pursue 72 specific initiatives to tackle what are seen as our most pressing competition problems. Will these initiatives enhance the role of competition, or are they instead initiatives that would replace the outcomes of competitive markets with regulatory requirements? Both views have strong champions and well-articulated views. A distinguished panel joined us to lay out the arguments and implications of these important policy choices.
Featuring:
- Neil Averitt, Opinion Columnist, FTC:Watch
- Howard Beales, Professor Emeritus of Strategic Management and Public Policy, School of Business, The George Washington University
- Robert Bork, Jr., President, Antitrust Education Project
- Ioana Marinescu, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania and Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research
- [Moderator] Jane Luxton, Managing Partner - Washington, D.C., Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
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