Congressional Report on Tech Competition Cites Yale SOM Faculty
A high-profile congressional report on anti-competitive behavior by major technology firms cites research and testimony by Fiona Scott Morton, Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics and founder and director of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale, which generates and disseminates research on antitrust policy, and research by Florian Ederer, associate professor of economics, and Song Ma, assistant professor of finance.
A high-profile congressional report on anti-competitive behavior by major technology firms repeatedly cites research and congressional testimony from Yale SOM faculty members and affiliates.
“Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets,” a staff report from the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law, was released on October 6. It concludes that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google have created harmful monopolies and recommends legislative action and reform.
The report cites research and testimony by Fiona Scott Morton, Theodore Nierenberg Professor of Economics and founder and director of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale, which generates and disseminates research on antitrust policy, and research by Florian Ederer, associate professor of economics, and Song Ma, assistant professor of finance. It also cites research and testimony by Dina Srinivasan, a fellow of the Thurman Arnold Project.
In a section on the effect of anti-competitive behavior on innovation, the report quotes Scott Morton’s July 2019 testimony to the subcommittee. According to the report, Scott Morton testified that “insufficient competition has given dominant firms the ability to channel innovation in the direction they prefer ‘rather than being creatively spread across directions chosen by entrants.’” Other sections cite Scott Morton’s testimony and research on the dynamics of competition in digital markets, among other topics.
The report also cites a paper co-authored by Ederer and Ma with Colleen Cunningham of London Business School. Titled “Killer Acquisitions,” the much-cited research describes the phenomenon of firms in the pharmaceutical industry acquiring smaller competitors for the purpose of discontinuing projects that post a competitive threat—a process that also occurs in the technology industry, according to the report.
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