The FTC has enjoyed great success for decades, and I address four topics here in this paper presented at the opening session of the FTC's “Hearing on Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century.” First, what durable success means for an agency like the FTC. Then, the vision I...

The antitrust agencies typically find customer reactions probative of the likely competitive effects of a merger. Thus, merger challenge data released by the FTC reveal that strong complaints from customers almost always lead to a government challenge. Nevertheless, some judges have been quite...

The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fits in the larger scheme of institutions for consumer protection embodied in the American economic system. It also examines how the agency's animating principles shape the Commission's enforcement agenda and...