‘Market Power in Antitrust Cases,’ by William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner
William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner’s 1981 Harvard Law Review article “Market Power in Antitrust Cases” is a true classic. Showing the value of interdisciplinary work within the law & economics tradition, it brought real clarity to what “market power” means and how courts should assess it—cutting through vague labels like “monopoly power” and “dominance” that too often obscure more than they explain.
On a personal note, no article has shaped my thinking about antitrust more. After reading it, I became deeply skeptical of the reflexive habit of blaming “monopoly power” for business practices people dislike or don’t understand. As a law student, I even had the privilege of translating the article into Spanish with my friend Valery Vicente—a project that forced me to read it closely, repeatedly, and with growing appreciation.