Wettbewerbsschutz durch regelgeleitete Wettbewerbspolitik : Anmerkungen zum institutionenökonomisch-evolutionären Wettbewerbsleitbild

Recently, Chr. Mantzavinos proposed a new concept for antitrust analysis drawing on theoretical developments in New Institutional Economics and Evolutionary Economics. Criticizing the policy prescriptions based on traditional microeconomics and welfare economics, Mantzavinos pleas for a rule-governed antitrust policy which mainly operates with per se rules. This paper argues that the criticism of the traditional foundations of antitrust is inadequate and that per se rules rarely work. Reality confounds the principle of per se illegality and prompted courts to use a de facto rule of reason.