5.4 — Antitrust III: The Hipsters — Class Content

Meeting Date

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Overview

Today we finish our examination of antitrust by looking at the latest debates in antitrust theory and practice, specifically the rise of the “Neo-Brandeisians” or (more pejoratively) “Hipster antitrust.” Much of the current discourse about potentially changing antitrust theory and practice revolve around platforms, or “two-sided markets” and the rise of big tech companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook/Meta. Several antitrust cases are outstanding against these firms, and there are political debates and proposed legislation regarding fundamental changes to antitrust law and enforcement.

Readings

On Specific Antitrust Cases/History

Slides

Below, you can find the slides in two formats. Clicking the image will bring you to the html version of the slides in a new tab. The lower button will allow you to download a PDF version of the slides.

Tip

You can type h to see a special list of viewing options, and type o for an outline view of all the slides.

I suggest printing the slides beforehand and using them to take additional notes in class (not everything is in the slides)!

5.4-slides

Download as PDF