The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age

by Tim Wu

As a business gets larger, it begins to enjoy a different kind of advantages having less to do with efficiencies of operation, and more to do with its ability to wield economic and political power, by itself or conjunction with others. In other words, a firm may not actually become more efficient as it gets larger, but may become better at raising prices or keeping out competitors.

Of the great mysteries of the Chicago School was the fact that it posited ultra-rational, profit-seeking monopolists, yet somehow imagined that they would generally leave themselves completely vulnerable to competitive attack. The truth is that investments in barriers to entry are a magnificent investment.