Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2017

Abstract

Since I have already published a lengthy academic article on antitrust and wealth inequality, I have the freedom of using this piece to present the key arguments unvarnished by dense citations or technical details (readers interested in those things should consult my earlier article) and to respond to some of the criticisms of my article that have since been levied. My thesis, before and now, is this: claims that antitrust enforcement advances income or wealth progressivity are overstated and rest on simplistic and unrealistic understandings of how antitrust actually operates. While some enforcement actions may generate progressive results, others will generate regressive results, and the net effect is largely unknowable. Therefore, with a few limited exceptions, it would be unwise to cast antitrust as a policy lever for advancing wealth equality.


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