LESSONS FROM THE UNITED-STATES ANTITRUST HISTORY

The United States's antitrust policy spans more than 100 years. For mo st of its history the United States has had the toughest antitrust law s and enforcement policies of any country in the world. A shift to a m ore permissive attitude with regard to antitrust matters has occurred in recent years, however. This paper traces the changes in antitrust p olicy that have occurred, and the concurrent shifts in thinking among economists on antitrust questions. Following this review, the paper of fers a critical appraisal of both the economic underpinning of the new learnings on antitrust matters, and the changes in antitrust policy t hat have accompanied them. It closes with a discussion of the implicat ions of the analysis for European antitrust (competition) policy.