The techniques used by the economic expert witnesses in FTC v. Whole Foods Market illustrate the sophistication and complexity of modern empirical merger analysis. This article from Antitrust explains the intuition behind these techniques and discuss how the results can be used to assess the competitive effects of a merger. Although these techniques are being used with increasing frequency, the authors point out that whether they are likely to be useful and informative depends on the market at issue and the degree to which the empirical approach captures the key events and market dynamics that drive pricing in the real world.

This article, from the Fall 2007 issue of Antitrust, has been reproduced with permission from the American Bar Association. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.