Innovation Paradox in Merger Control - by Gönenç Gü & rkaynak (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In his new book, Professor Gönenç Gürkaynak dissects the complex relationship between competition and innovation, and attempts to optimize intervention in merger control, advocating for a case-by-case analysis under certain principles explored in the book. He powerfully challenges presumptions in merger control, based on his analysis of 80 merger control decisions in three major jurisdictions, and exhaustive research on academic literature.

Review Quotes

"In my personal library, this book written by Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak stands out as a remarkable source of information and an inspiring analysis about how innovation is, could, and should be treated, worldwide, by competition courts and agencies." Professor Paul Nihoul, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Professor of Law at Université Catholique de Louvain.

"This book assembles and analyzes virtually everything worth knowing about the relationship between innovation and competition policy relevant to merger review, both as a matter of theory and as that relationship has been variously (mis) understood by the US, EU, and UK competition authorities. As a prominent antitrust lawyer, the author appreciates and demonstrates the need for case-by-case analysis to improve the empirical basis for merger decisions. The result is a stimulating and rewarding study that supports the author's doubts about structural presumptions given the current state of our knowledge." Professor Douglas H. Ginsburg, Senior Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Professor of Law at GMU Antonin Scalia Law.

"The relationship between competition policy and innovation is a close but complex one, and is further challenged by the impact of platform-based interactions on evolving markets. This valuable study of innovation theory in merger analysis is a detailed and thoughtful treatment of the topic, richly illustrated by a deep study of caselaw in the three jurisdictions that have contributed most to the jurisprudence. It lays out the current approach to innovation theory, as well as its historical origins, and will be welcomed by academics and practitioners in both law and economics." Tim Frazer, Member of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal.

"Dr. Gönenç Gürkaynak makes a powerful case for competition agencies to accept the cost of a more intensive examination of innovation efficiency arguments as necessary to determine when intervention to block or qualify proposed transactions is appropriate. These proposals stand upon an impressive foundation of conceptual analysis and the practical insights about merger control. This reflects the author's enviable accomplishments as a scholar and practitioner. Theory meets practice in the best way possible." Professor William E. Kovacic, Global Competition Professor of Law and Policy at George Washington University Law School.