Monopoly Power and the Decline of Small Business: The Case for Restoring America’s Once Robust Antitrust Policies
Stacy Mitchell, for the Institute For Local Self-Reliance
First published August 2016
This paper is one of seven papers in the Report on Antitrust and Entrepreneurship, which is part of an American Antitrust Institute (AAI) project, made possible by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Report’s papers examine the important relationship between entrepreneurial activity and competition policy and enforcement. The AAI’s focus on antitrust and entrepreneurship is motivated by the importance of entrepreneurial activity for competition and economic growth. Recent research documents the slowing pace of entry into the economy by new firms and the increasing rate of failure of many early-stage firms. There are growing indications that these outcomes may be linked to growing consolidation. However, theoretical and practical limitations inherent to existing antitrust analysis tend to systemically
undervalue entrepreneurial activity. Questions concerning the relationship of antitrust and entrepreneurship are therefore ripe for analysis. To learn more about the project and read the other papers, read the Report on Antitrust and Entrepreneurship.