Reimagining Antitrust Institutions: A (Modest?) Proposal

Abstract It is always an appropriate time to reevaluate, reexamine, and question the optimal scope and shape of antitrust institutions. In this article we ask whether the complex current distribution of competition functions in the U.S. can be improved by some reorganization or other reform. We answer in the affirmative and propose a number of improvements – perhaps the most significant being consolidating the competition functions of the FTC into the Antitrust Division and stripping the FCC of authority independently to review mergers, as it did in view of the similarly poor performance of the DOT when reviewing airline mergers. Our more general proposal with the authority of sectoral regulators over competition should not be overlooked, however; it would do much good with little or no downside.