Measuring the tew antitrust revolution

Abstract

For over four decades, Chicago School antitrust principles - centered on consumer welfare and the presumed efficiency of market behavior - have dominated U.S. antitrust policy. Recently, there has been a growing movement toward a new antitrust revolution inspired by Neo-Brandeisian ideals. This emerging framework advocates for multiple objectives, including the promotion of democracy, labor rights, and the protection of small businesses, alongside more assertive enforcement against anti-competitive practices. In this paper, I employ natural language processing to analyze the evolving beliefs and attitudes of American antitrust agencies - the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice - over time. My findings reveal a gradual shift in these agencies’ expressed views from Chicago School to Neo-Brandeisian thinking. However, as demonstrated through a political economy spatial model of strategic interaction, the antitrust agencies alone cannot drive this new revolution. To address this, I also
assess the beliefs of other key actors: the President, congressional committees, the Supreme Court, and business lobbying groups. While some of these actors have begun to embrace NeoBrandeisian perspectives, others have not, indicating that the full transition to a NeoBrandeisian antitrust policy may hinge on whether these resistant beliefs can be altered or overcome.