The Consumer Welfare Standard and the Protect Competition Standard: A Comparison and Assessment

Mark Glick, Gabriel Lozada and Darren Bush
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Mark Glick: University of Utah
Gabriel Lozada: University of Utah
Darren Bush: University of Houston Law School

No inetwp248, Working Papers Series from Institute for New Economic Thinking

Abstract: We compare the Consumer Welfare Standard (CWS) and the Protect Competition Standard (PCS) in antitrust. While the two standards are often viewed as mutually exclusive alternatives, there is a larger overlap between the two standards than is usually acknowledged. We first delineate each, recount their respective origins and identify the main supporters of each view. We then compare the two standards across several dimensions: we analyze the practical differences between the two standards in merger and monopolization cases; analyze their fidelity to Congressional intent and to Supreme Court precedent; and discuss how the two standards are connected to normative economic theory. Finally, we discuss the social welfare implications of the differing goals of the two standards. It is our hope that this piece may assist policy makers, courts, and antitrust practitioners better understand the two standards and how they can be more effectively and conscientiously applied.

Keywords: Antitrust Standards; Consumer Welfare Standard; Protect Competition Standard; New Brandeis School; Chicago Antitrust. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K21 L41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2026-04-02
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp248

DOI: 10.36687/inetwp248

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