H. Jenkins on market definition
April 26, 2007
Not that there's a lot to choose from, but Holman Jenkins's column yesterday (Wall Street Journal; probably subscription only) was one of the funniest pieces on U.S. antitrust policy I've ever seen.
With an ingenuity no doubt born of a healthy consulting fee, a reputable economist who shall remain nameless recently produced an "analysis" arguing that satellite radio is a distinct marketplace for antitrust purposes because -- get this -- "indecent audio content has gravitated" to satellite radio as a result of federal indecency rules. . . .
"Market definition" has become a Kafkaesque cornucopia of pliable concepts to maximize the antitrust enforcer's opportunity to tyrannize over the private sector.