Antitrust Case Studies: AT&T & IBM

The antitrust litigation against AT&T and IBM are two of the most discussed (and celebrated) cases in U.S. history. Some claim that both decisions shaped the creation and development of the transistor and personal computer, while others believe the actual long-term impact of this enforcement was minimal. This case study panel discusses the consequences of both cases.
Moderator: Fiona Scott Morton, Yale University
Robert Crandall, Technology Policy Institute
Richard John, Columbia University
Giovanna Massarotto, University of Pennsylvania
Tim Wu, Columbia University
About the Conference
In 2017, the Stigler Center embarked on an ambitious project to reinvigorate the discussion of concentration and monopoly in the United States, starting with the conference Is There a Concentration Problem in America? Six years later, our 2023 Conference addressed the future of antitrust enforcement beyond the Consumer Welfare Standard-and there was broad academic agreement that it is time to move antitrust policy and enforcement forward.
One of our most engaging panels discussed the quantitative impact of antitrust enforcement on the US macroeconomy. There, Chicago Booth's Chad Syverson asked whether there are good measures of how antitrust enforcement impacts aggregate productivity by influencing the creation and diffusion of general-purpose technology, such as computer chips or artificial intelligence. This is a fair question that deserves careful consideration from the antitrust community. It can also be extended: how can societies design antitrust and regulatory policies to promote competition and innovation.
The first day of our two-day 2024 Antitrust Conference-Antitrust, Regulation and the Diffusion of Innovation-will focus on antitrust enforcement’s historical record of influencing the development and spread of general-purpose technology. Expert panels will discuss Syverson’s question about antitrust enforcement’s impact (or lack thereof) on the US economy and productivity. They will also interrogate famous case studies of antitrust enforcement, such as the breakup of AT&T, to discern if and how regulatory interventions have impacted innovation in the US and abroad.
The second day of the conference will turn from the past to the future. It will start with a discussion on how antitrust enforcement agencies around the world are transitioning to new regulatory competition models to tackle the unique problems endemic to digital markets. The conference will then shift to a discussion of the optimal regulatory policies that can encourage the development of competitive markets for artificial intelligence-the world’s best candidate for an innovation that can provide a boost in productivity.
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