SSRN - Structuring Competition to Foster Socially Beneficial Innovation

Senior legal analyst Daniel Hanley analyzes the ways in which antitrust enforcement plays a role in the structure of fair market competition.

Abstract:

This Article details how targeted antitrust enforcement can structure market competition to promote socially beneficial innovation. Specifically, I argue that not all innovations are beneficial to society, with some corporations using tactics that undermine legal rights and increase worker exploitation. The Article then details how robust antitrust enforcement between the 1940s-1970s channeled corporate resources into productive investments rather than employing unfair methods of competition. I then advocate for aggressive enforcement against mergers, unfair contracts, and dominant firms, along with selecting remedies like breakups and compulsory licensing, to realign business incentives to engage in genuine, socially beneficial innovation such as increased investments in productive capacity and worker benefits.

Read the full paper below or download here.