| This thesis examines two different antitrust issues, predation and patent pools, which reflect the latest trend of U.S. antitrust policy. I attempt to expand the horizon of the discussion by providing new theoretical and empirical frameworks for assessing the economic efficiency of such cases.; Despite its long history in U.S. antitrust policy, predation remains a poorly understood phenomenon. The main difficulty is in empirically identifying predatory intent. The second chapter of the thesis proposes and applies a method for measuring the extent of predation. Unlike the approaches of previous work, this empirical study investigates predation by explicitly modelling beliefs and learning. Focusing on the reputation theory of predation, I present a model with which one can estimate how the incumbent's response to entry influences future entry. Maximum likelihood estimation of the model using simulated annealing is conducted with a sample of U.S. airline markets. The results provide some support for the presence of learning and predatory reputation. As an application, I discuss how the outcomes of my empirical model could help analyze such antitrust cases as the American Airlines Case.; It is well known that patent pools can enhance efficiency by eliminating the complements problem. The third chapter of the thesis investigates how the presence of vertically integrated firms affects the economic impact of a patent pool. Without a patent pool, the presence of integrated firms may either increase or decrease the final product price as there are two countervailing effects---reduced double marginalization and raising rivals' costs. However, when there is a patent pool, vertical integration always lowers the final product price. A patent pool doesn't just solve the complements problem but it also enhances the reduction of double marginalization that vertical integration brings about and, furthermore, it tends to reduce the incentive to raise rivals' costs. In conclusion, the economic efficiency arguments for patent pools are enhanced when some firms are vertically integrated. |
