Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Antitrust

Posted by Social Science Research Network

Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Antitrust

Robert E. Litan (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation)

Abstract:      Entrepreneurship is key to productivity growth, yet in recent decades new-firm formation has flagged. There is some evidence that business concentration may be a contributing cause. Well-designed antitrust enforcement policy, especially aimed at policing abuse of market power by dominant platforms, will be crucial to preserving opportunities for new entrants, especially in technology sectors. But antitrust procedures should also be updated to speed up decisions so that legal outcomes are not completely outpaced by technology.