Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-sh8wx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T04:18:11.648Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Antitrust enforcement by state attorneys general: institutional, legal and political considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John A. Dove
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since deregulation in 1980, there has been a major shift in antitrust enforcement to the states, specifically to state attorneys general (AGs). For advocates of deregulation, this move has had important unintended consequences. Specifically, it has allowed antitrust litigation to become hitched to the political incentives of AGs. Analysis of a panel dataset of all state antitrust actions between 1990 and 2008 suggests that antitrust enforcement by state attorneys general appears to follow electoral cycles, which is especially pronounced depending on specific institutional constraints that exist between the states.

Type
Research Articles
Information
Business and Politics , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , August 2014 , pp. 291 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © V.K. Aggarwal 2014 and published under exclusive license to Cambridge University Press 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnes, David W. 1988. “Federal and State Philosophies in the Antitrust Law of Mergers.” The George Washington Law Review 56 (2): 263–294.Google Scholar
Bender, Bruce and Lott, John R. Jr. 1996. “Legislative Voting and Shirking: A Critical Review of the Literature.” Public Choice 87 (1–2): 67–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, William D., Ringquist, Evan J., Fording, Richard C., and Hanson, Russell L. 1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960–93.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (1): 327–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyle, Thad and Jensen, Jennifer M. Various Years. Gubernatorial Campaign Expenditures Database. Available from http://www.unc.edu/~beyle/guber.html. Accessed on 4 February 2014.Google Scholar
The Book of the States. Various Years. Lexington, KY: The Council of State Governments.Google Scholar
Clayton, Cornell. 1994. “Law, Politics and the New Federalism: State Attorneys General as National Policy Makers.” The Review of Politics 56 (3): 525–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coate, Malcolm B., Higgins, Richard S., and Fred, S. McChesney. 1990. “Bureaucracy and Politics in FTC Merger Challenges.” Journal of Law and Economics 33 (2): 463–482.Google Scholar
DeBow, Michael. 2004. “State Antitrust Enforcement: Empirical Evidence and a Modest Reform Proposal.” In Competition Laws in Conflict: Antitrust Jurisdiction in the Global Economy, edited by Epstein, R. A. Jackson, TN: AEI Press.Google Scholar
Dove, John A. 2010. “Public Protection versus Public Choice: An Analysis of Merger Enforcement Behavior by State Attorneys General.” Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice 28 (2–3): 115–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisner, Marc A. 1991. Antitrust and the Triumph of Economics: Institutions, Expertise, & Policy Change. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Farmer, Susan B. 1999. “More Lessons from the Laboratories: Cy Pres Distributions in Parens Patriae Antitrust Actions Brought by State Attorneys General.” Fordham Law Review 68 (2): 361–406.Google Scholar
Feinberg, Robert M. and Reynolds, Kara M. 2010. “The Determinants of State Level Antitrust Activity.” Review of Industrial Organization 37 (3): 179–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feinberg, Robert M. and Husted, Thomas A. 2013. “Do States Free Ride in Antitrust Enforcement?” Economic Inquiry 51 (1): 997–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flexner, Donald L. and Racanelli, Mark A. 1993–1994. “State and Federal Antitrust Enforcement in the United States: Collision or Harmony?” Connecticut Journal of International Law 9 (3): 501–534.Google Scholar
Gifford, Donald G. 2008. “Impersonating the Legislature: State Attorneys General and Parens Patriae Product Litigation.” Boston College Law Review 49 (4): 913–969.Google Scholar
Ghosal, Vivek and Gallo, Joseph. 2001. “The Cyclical Behavior of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Enforcement Activity.” International Journal of Industrial Organization 19 (1–2): 27–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, William H. 2003. Econometric Analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Greenblatt, Alan. 2003. “The Avengers General.” Governing Magazine. Available from: http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/The-Avenger-General.html. Accessed 3 February 2014.Google Scholar
Greve, Michael S. 2005. “Cartel Federalism? Antitrust Enforcement by State Attorneys General.” The University of Chicago Law Review 72 (1): 99–122.Google Scholar
Hahn, Robert W. and Layne-Farrar, Anne. 2003. “Federalism in Antitrust.” Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 26 (3): 878–921.Google Scholar
Harmon, Robert B. 1991. State Attorneys General: A Bibliography and Survey. Monticello, IL: Vance Bibliographies.Google Scholar
Hausman, Jerry, Hall, Bronwyn H., and Griliches, Zvi. 1984. “Econometric Models of Count Data with an Application to the Patents-R&D Relationship.” Econometrica 52 (4): 909–938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrick, Rebekah and Moore, Michael K. 1993. “Political Ambition's Effect on Legislative Behavior: Schlesinger's Typology Reconsidered and Revisited.” Journal of Politics 55 (3): 765–776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inman, Robert P and Rubinfeld, Daniel L. 1997. “Rethinking Federalism.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 11 (4): 43–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemos, Margaret H. 2011. “State Enforcement of Federal Law.” New York University Law Review 86 (3): 698–765.Google Scholar
Long, William F., Schramm, Richard and Tollison, Robert. 1973. “The Economic Determinants of Antitrust Activity.” Journal of Law and Economics 16 (2): 351–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, Jason. 2001. “Federalism, Separation of Powers, and the Role of State Attorneys General in Multi-state Litigation.” Columbia Law Review 101 (8): 1998–2032.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, William P. 2006. “Break up the Presidency? Governors, State Attorneys General, and Lessons from the Divided Executive.” The Yale Law Journal 115 (9): 2446–2479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, Thomas. 1986. “States before the U.S. Supreme Court: State Attorneys General as amicus curiae.” Judicature 70: 298–305.Google Scholar
Myers, Emily and Ross, Lynne, eds. 2008. State Attorneys General Powers and Responsibilities, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: National Association of Attorneys General.Google Scholar
Pittman, Russell. 1992. “Antitrust and the Political Process.” Empirical Studies in Industrial Organization 16: 147–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, Richard A. 1970. “A Statistical Study of Antitrust Enforcement.” Journal of Law and Economics 13 (2): 365–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, Richard A. 2004. “Federalism and the Enforcement of Antitrust Laws by State Attorneys General.” The Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 2 (5): 5–16.Google Scholar
Poterba, James M. and Rueben, Kim. 1999. “State Fiscal Institutions and the U.S. Municipal Bond Market.” In Fiscal Institutions and Fiscal Performance, edited by Poterba, J. M. and von Hagen, J. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provost, Colin. 2003. “State Attorneys General, Entrepreneurship, and Consumer Protection in the New Federalism.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 33 (2): 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provost, Colin. 2006. “The Politics of Consumer Protection: Explaining State Attorney General Participation in Multi-State Lawsuits.” Political Research Quarterly 59 (4): 609–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provost, Colin. 2010. “When is AG Short for Aspiring Governor? Institutional Structure, Policy Making Dynamics and Ambition in the Office of State Attorney General.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 40 (4): 569–596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ray, Leonard and Spill, Rorie. 2002. “The States in Federal Appellate Court: Litigation Trends Over Time.” The Justice System Journal 23 (1): 97–108.Google Scholar
Rose, Jonathan. 1994–1995. “State Antitrust Enforcement, Mergers, and Politics.” The Wayne Law Review 41 (1): 71–134.Google Scholar
Smith, Joseph L. and Tiller, Emerson H. 2002. “The Strategy of Judging: Evidence from Administrative Law.” Journal of Legal Studies 31 (1): 61–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spill, Rorie L., Licari, Michael J. and Ray, Leonard. 2001. “Taking on Tobacco: Policy Entrepreneurship and the Tobacco Litigation.” Political Research Quarterly 54 (3): 605–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waltenburg, Eric N. and Swinford, Bill. 1999. “The Supreme Court as a Policy Arena: The Strategies and Tactics of State Attorneys General.” Policy Studies Journal 27 (2): 242–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, Joseph F. 1998. “Interstate Cooperation: The Roles of the State Attorneys General.” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 28 (1): 71–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, Joseph F. 1999. “Why State Attorneys General Should have a Limited Role in Enforcing the Federal Antitrust Law of Mergers.” Emory Law Journal 39 (1): 305–336.Google Scholar
Zupan, Mark A. 1990. “The Last Period Problem in Politics: Do Congressional Representatives not Subject to a Reelection Constraint Alter Their Voting Behavior?” Public Choice 65 (1–2): 167–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar