Antimerger policy in the United States: History and lessons

This paper reviews the history of US antimerger policy. This history is divided into three periods: a period in which there was almost no effective antimerger policy at all from 1890 up to 1959, a period of vigorous antimerger policy from 1950 up through 1973, and a period of lax enforcement from 1974 to the present. The paper accounts for these shifts in antimerger policy and discusses their effects. After reviewing the logic and consequences of US antimerger policy, a critique of its permises is offered, particularly as these premises apply to the recent era of lax enforcement. The paper closes with suggestions for an alternative approach to antimerger policy that is consistent with the empirical evidence on why mergers occur and their effects.