1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov May 29, 2019Antitrust Law: An IntroductionConcerns over economic concentration and the rise of dominant technology platforms have recently generated renewed congressional interest in antitrust law. This In Focus offers a brief introduction to antitrust by reviewing th
2、e economic assumptions on which it is based and the key substantive provisions of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. Rationale for Antitrust Law Contemporary antitrust doctrine is based on the idea that economic competition optimizes the allocation of scarce res
3、ources by inducing firms to adopt the most efficient production methods and price their products at or near their costs of production. These virtues of competition are often illustrated with the stylized hypothetical of a “perfectly competitive” marketthat is, a market with homogenous products, many
4、 well-informed buyers and sellers, low entry barriers, and low transaction costs. In such a market, firms must price their products at their costs of production in order to avoid losing their customers to competitors. However, real-world markets often deviate from this textbook model of perfect comp
