Enforcement of the antitrust laws is often associated with a simple count of the annual number of government-initiated cases – with fewer cases associated with weaker enforcement, and vice-versa. This position is largely inconsistent with a belief that more enforcement efforts can deter violations. The presence of deterrence yields an inverted parabola – a “Laffer Curve” – that relates cases brought to enforcement efforts. The right-hand side of this curve generates the opposite result from the simple count idea: More enforcement efforts can result in fewer cases that are brought – because there are fewer underlying violations. This article expands on these ideas.
