Agenda
- Discussion Question: the “Google Problem”
- Purposes: Competition Act, s 1.1
- Historical Trends in Competition Law Thought
- Competition Act Overview
- Major Paper Topics
Were the problems of a century ago any different?
Competition Act, s. 1.1
The purpose of this Act is to maintain and encourage competition in Canada in order to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy, in order to expand opportunities for Canadian participation in world markets while at the same time recognizing the role of foreign competition in Canada, in order to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the Canadian economy and in order to provide consumers with competitive prices and product choices.
Exercise
Redraft s.1.1 of the Competition Act with the “Google Problem” in mind.
When your group is satisfied with your draft, copy and paste it here.
Historical trends in competition law thought
Which of these historical trends in antitrust thought seem most closely connected to your redrafted section 1.1?
- Pragmatic regulation of “bigness”
- Neoclassical / Chicago School laissez-faire
- Structuralist / Neo-Brandeisian resurgence
The Chicago School and the Marginalist Revolution
What kinds of structural conditions would a Structuralist / Neo-Brandeisian emphasize for anti-trust policy?
Are there limits to what antitrust can do about Google? Who else might play a role here?
Competition Act Overview
Three major concerns:
Major Paper Topics
Roundtable:
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What are you planning to write about? (and/or)
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What problems are confronting in identifying a suitable topic?