"Preface" [2010] ELECD 268; in Hylton, N. Keith (ed), "Antitrust Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Antitrust Law and Economics

Editor(s): Hylton, N. Keith

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847207319

Section Title: Preface

Number of pages: 2

Extract:

Preface


This collection of chapters on fundamental topics in antitrust was arranged
with the goal of presenting the subject in a manner that reflects modern
thinking in both the law and the economics of antitrust. That is not an
easy task. Antitrust economics has become a very complicated field. It
requires specialization, and as a result it is quite difficult to stay abreast of
both the law and the modern economic treatments.
Any effort to provide a balance of legal and economic analysis, given the
long history of the law and the level of sophistication in modern economic
research, will necessarily involve some sacrifice of both approaches. I am
not sure it is possible to present a book that offers the combination of eve-
rything an antitrust law specialist would like to see, as well as everything
an antitrust economist would like to see. But I think it is better to sacrifice
a bit from both of the endpoints to produce something that blends the two
approaches, which is what this volume attempts to do.
The argument for incorporating economic analysis in any modern dis-
cussion of antitrust law is obvious today. American courts use economic
reasoning to reach conclusions on the best policies to adopt in antitrust
cases. American antitrust litigation relies heavily on the input of experts
trained in economics and statistics. It would be educational malpractice
to train any law student to practice antitrust without communicating the
importance of economic analysis to the student.
In Europe, the ...