In this issue:
The intersection of agriculture and antitrust is the subject of recent high-level attention, as the DOJ and USDA look to unearth facts to answer the question: Has industry concentration produced unaddressed competitive concerns? In this issue, organized by Senior Editor Josh Wright, we look at two central questions. Peter Carstensen and Mike Sykuta square off on whether the Packer and Stockyard Act should boldly go where the FTC can’t, and Diana Moss, Geoff Manne & Josh Wright, and William Wilson & Bruce Dahl take different approaches regarding Monsanto and the seed issue. Enjoy!
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Agriculture & Antitrust
The Packers and Stockyards Act: A History of Failure to Date
Where there are serious problems of market failure effective regulation can often remedy the problem and restore economically desirable competition. Unfortunately, the Secretary has”up to now”failed to provide an appropriate market facilitating set of regulations. Peter C. Carstensen, University of Wisconsin
Concentration, Contracting and Competition: Problems In Using The Packers & Stockyards Act To Supplement Antitrust
Under the rubric of “big is not per se bad, but can lead to predatory business practices,” the partnering of DOJ and USDA represents a move to apply antitrust and the Packers and Stockyard Act as two blades of a scissor to cut down practices deemed inappropriate by regulators. Michael Sykuta, University of Missouri
A First Principles Approach to Antitrust Enforcement in the Agricultural Industry
A first principles approach to antitrust analysis is required to guarantee the benefits of competition in the agricultural sector; we discuss three fundamental principles of modern antitrust that, at times, appear to be given short-shrift in the recent debate. Geoffrey Manne, International Center for Law and Economics & Joshua Wright, George Mason University
Transgenic Seed: The High Technology Test of Antitrust?
How should antitrust deal with a patent-holder that is also a dominant firm, and alleged to have maintained or leveraged its monopoly by selectively enforcing its licenses? Does such conduct unduly control or influence competition and innovation, to the detriment of consumers? Diana Moss, American Antitrust Institute
Competition and Dynamics in Market Structure in Corn and Soybean Seed
Ultimately what is being challenged is the impact of the patenting system, and the interpretation of certain anticompetitive practices. William W. Wilson & Bruce Dahl, North Dakota State University
