Break Up Big Tech? The Economics of Antitrust from Both Sides of the Question

The success of the digital economy has given rise to some of the wealthiest companies the world has ever known. Over the last decade or more, concerns have arisen among some economists about whether existing antitrust laws are adequate to address the market power exercised by these “Big Tech” companies and their products and platforms that are used by billions of people globally.

Has the data-driven economy of “free” platforms, network effects and the unprecedented size of these tech firms changed the economic calculus behind the consumer-welfare framework that currently guides antitrust enforcement?

Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison and a panel of other economists on both sides of the question share their insights in this discussion from R Street Institute.