Monopolies and Mergers Policy : A View on the Green Paper

The recent Green Paper, A Review of Monopolies and Mergers Policy : A Consultative Document (1978), after presenting the theoretical arguments and the empirical evidence relating to monopoly and merger, comes to the conclusion that only minor adjustments in policy are required. On mergers it proposes a neutral approach, as distinct from the current presumption in favour of mergers, and on monopoly policy it suggests that consideration should be given to extending the scope of investigation to include oligopoly and to legislation directed against various monopoly practices which the work of the Monopolies Commission has revealed to be both fairly general and against the public interest. Thus policies which are at present essentially permissive, certainly in the case of merger, arguably in the case of monopoly, are to be tightened-up slightly. The central question we seek to answer is whether or not such conclusions are reasonable in the face of the evidence. Questions will also be raised about the treatment of evidence in the Green Paper ; about some of their own analysis and about the strategy followed in considering what might have been fundamental changes in public policy towards monopoly.