Back to the Future: Unilateral Effects -- Not Just for Differentiated Products Anymore?
Washington, DC
21 May 2013
Hosted By: NERA Economic Consulting
In recent years, unilateral effects in antitrust merger analysis have come to be associated with differentiated goods marketplaces ("Is Brand A the closest substitute for Brand B?"). But is the tide turning, so that unilateral effects will begin to reappear in agency reviews of mergers in relatively homogenous goods markets?
The distinguished panelists examined why coordination has been viewed as the appropriate theory of harm in such markets, and discussed how to model rigorously the antitrust economics of unilateral effects in such markets. The panel also looked at a case study that illustrates how these economic principles can be applied, and held a spirited discussion of what the antitrust analysis of mergers in such markets may look like as we go back to the future.
Moderator:
Dr. Lawrence Wu, President, NERA Economic Consulting
Speakers:
William Kolasky, Partner, WilmerHale LLP; former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice
William Kolasky is a partner in WilmerHale’s Regulatory and Government Affairs Department, and a former chair of the firm's Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. Mr. Kolasky has been practicing antitrust law in Washington, DC for over 35 years and served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice. While at Justice, he was one of the architects of the International Competition Network, a network of over 100 competition authorities worldwide designed to promote great international cooperation and convergence among those authorities. He is the most recent recipient of Global Competition Review's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Chetan Sanghvi, Senior Vice President, NERA Economic Consulting; former Economics Advisor to the Office of Commissioner Brill, Federal Trade Commission
Chetan Sanghvi recently rejoined NERA from the Federal Trade Commission, where he served as the Commission's expert economist in matters on a litigation track and was an economics advisor to the office of Commissioner Brill. While at the FTC, he also was the lead economist on an inter-agency Presidential task force on pricing and competition in the oil industry, and provided technical aid and training to the Competition Commission of India. His work covered numerous industries, including health care, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, search engines and the Internet, consumer and industrial products, entertainment, and retail services. Previously, he held senior positions at several economic consulting firms, and was an economist within the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.
Darren Tucker, Senior Competition Advisor to Commissioner Joshua D. Wright, Federal Trade Commission; Partner, Bingham McCutchen LLP (effective 1 July)
Darren Tucker is senior competition adviser to FTC Commissioner Joshua D. Wright and previously served as the senior competition adviser to former FTC Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch. In that role, Mr. Tucker reviews and analyzes staff recommendations on all aspects of the FTC’s competition mission. Mr. Tucker was the principal drafter of the agency’s liability decision in In the Matter of North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners and the closing statement for ESI/Medco. He also helped develop the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the FTC’s antitrust enforcement statement governing accountable-care organizations that service Medicare patients under the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Tucker will be joining Bingham McCutchen as a partner on 1 July.
To learn more, please contact Angela McLean at angela.mclean@nera.com.
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