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Crane’s Cartel

Law over Economics in the 2023 Draft Merger Guidelines

Welcome to Crane’s Cartel, a trimonthly series where University of Michigan law professor Daniel Crane engages in hard-core mind-fixing. **** On July 19, the FTC and DOJ released the draft Merger Guidelines for public comment. Among the many headlines is the displacement by case law of formal economic analysis that had characterized former guidelines. The draft...
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Reviving the Robinson-Patman Act

Welcome to Crane’s Cartel, a trimonthly series where University of Michigan law professor Daniel Crane engages in hard-core mind-fixing. **** The Robinson-Patman Act was enacted in 1936 amid New Deal fervor against the power of chain stores, particularly the hegemonic Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (“A&P”). Among its provisions was a prohibition on price...
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The USA’S Midterm Elections and Antitrust

Welcome to Crane’s Cartel, a trimonthly series where University of Michigan law professor Daniel Crane engages in hard-core mind-fixing. **** For those observing American politics from abroad, the headline from the 2022 midterm elections was that the predicted “red wave” did not happen. The Republicans narrowly retook the House of Representatives but failed to re-take...
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Four Bad Reasons to Bring Criminal Monopolization Cases

Welcome to Crane’s Cartel, a trimonthly series where University of Michigan law professor Dan Crane engages in hard-core mind-fixing. **** The leadership of the U.S. Justice Department Antitrust Division has made waves in recent months by publicly stating an interest in reviving the long-discarded practice of bringing criminal cases under Section 2 of the Sherman...
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