Alden Abbott
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Senior Research Fellow
Alden Abbott is a Senior Research Fellow focusing on antitrust issues. Before joining Mercatus, Mr. Abbott served as the Federal Trade Commission’s General Counsel from 2018 to early 2021, where he represented the Commission in court and provided legal advice to its representatives. Prior to working at the FTC, Mr. Abbott worked at the Heritage Foundation and BlackBerry Ltd. He also served as an adjunct professor at Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School from 1991 to 2018. Mr. Abbott has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.A. in economics from Georgetown University.
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Federal Trade Commission’s and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Request for Information on Harmful Practices and on Potential Regulation or Legislation to Protect Consumers in the Concert and Entertainment Industry
Comment urges the FTC and DOJ to target specific anticompetitive conduct and adopt consumer-focused rules instead of structural breakups
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Strong Trump Support for Patent Rights Could Promote US Innovation | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
DOJ Should Consider Dropping Its HPE-Juniper Networks Merger Challenge | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New State Merger Review Laws Could Harm US Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Chinese Firm That Lost in US Trade Court Shouldn’t Get a Do-over | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Cloudy Legal and Policy Outlook For Trump Tariffs | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New U.S.-China Trade Negotiations Can Be A Win-Win | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Google Antitrust Remedies Could Harm US Economy and Consumers | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New US Trade Agreements Could Grow the Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Justice Department Introduces ‘America First Antitrust’ Policy | Forbes
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Federal Trade Commission’s and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Request for Information on Harmful Practices and on Potential Regulation or Legislation to Protect Consumers in the Concert and Entertainment Industry
Comment urges the FTC and DOJ to target specific anticompetitive conduct and adopt consumer-focused rules instead of structural breakups
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Strong Trump Support for Patent Rights Could Promote US Innovation | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
DOJ Should Consider Dropping Its HPE-Juniper Networks Merger Challenge | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New State Merger Review Laws Could Harm US Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Chinese Firm That Lost in US Trade Court Shouldn’t Get a Do-over | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Cloudy Legal and Policy Outlook For Trump Tariffs | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New U.S.-China Trade Negotiations Can Be A Win-Win | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Google Antitrust Remedies Could Harm US Economy and Consumers | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New US Trade Agreements Could Grow the Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Justice Department Introduces ‘America First Antitrust’ Policy | Forbes
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Is Data Really a Barrier to Entry? Rethinking Competition Regulation in Generative AI
Fears of data scarcity and monopolization are unfounded and risk leading to overregulation.
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Prioritizing Innovation in Antitrust Merger Analysis
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Antitrust Enforcement in 2023: Year in Review for the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Reforming the Federal Trade Commission
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Robinson-Patman Act: A Statute at Odds with Competition and Economic Welfare
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Books Books
Trade, Competition and Domestic Regulatory Policy
Trade Liberalisation, Competitive Markets and Property Rights Protection
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Developments in Competition Policy during the Second Year of the Biden Administration
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Developments in Competition Policy during the First Year of the Biden Administration
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Reining In Market-Distorting Federal Regulation
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Trump Fired the Two Democrats From the FTC, Is It a Risky Move, or Is It About Time? | Lars Larson Show
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
If You Expected Trump 2.0 To Be Soft on Antitrust, ‘Think Again’ | Yahoo Finance
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Net Neutrality Reversal | WTAN Radio's Freedom Works
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Federal Courts Have Ended Joe Biden’s Net Neutrality | Lars Larson Show
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Artificial Intelligence and Competition Policy | Concurrences’ “Antitrust Code” podcast
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Should Google Be Forced To Sell Chrome Like the Biden DOJ Wants? | The Lars Larson Show
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Are Social Media Companies Like Meta And Amazon Conducting Vast Surveillance On Users? | Lars Larson Show
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Kroger-Albertsons Merger | Scripps News
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Is the DOJ Right to Sue Live Nation for Antitrust Violations? | Lars Larson Show
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
The FTC’s Vote to Ban Noncompetes | WTIC radio’s “The Todd Feinburg Show”
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Federal Trade Commission’s and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Request for Information on Harmful Practices and on Potential Regulation or Legislation to Protect Consumers in the Concert and Entertainment Industry
Comment urges the FTC and DOJ to target specific anticompetitive conduct and adopt consumer-focused rules instead of structural breakups
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The Federal Trade Commission’s Request for Information (RFI) on the Identification of Anticompetitive Regulations That Fall Within the Scope of Section 3(a) of the President’s April 9, 2025, Executive Order on Regulatory Barriers
Comment urges the FTC to cut anticompetitive regulations using OECD tools and new econometric models
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Draft Merger Guidelines Jointly Proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission Are Seriously Flawed in Their Discussion of Merger Case Law
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The European Commission's Draft "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Standard Essential Patents" is Unnecessary and Harmful
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
A WTO Trips Agreement Waiver to Promote the Dissemination of COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics Is Unneeded and Would Impose Harm
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Federal Trade Commission's Proposed Noncompete Clause Rule Requires Rethinking, as a Matter of Law and Policy
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
New Merger Guidelines Should Be Concise, Be Administrable, and Avoid Antimerger Bias
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Addressing Anticompetitive Conduct In Pharmaceutical Markets: Antitrust Enforcement Is Robust and Effective, but Additional Market-Oriented Legal Reform Would be Helpful
US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Pharmaceutical Merger Enforcement Should Be Supported by Evidence and Sound Economic Theory
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Addressing Anticompetitive Conduct and Consolidation in Healthcare Markets: The Roles of State and Federal Regulation and Antitrust Law
Statement for the Record Submitted to the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights
Latest Work
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Strong Trump Support for Patent Rights Could Promote US Innovation | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
DOJ Should Consider Dropping Its HPE-Juniper Networks Merger Challenge | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New State Merger Review Laws Could Harm US Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
A Chinese Firm That Lost in US Trade Court Shouldn’t Get a Do-over | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Cloudy Legal and Policy Outlook For Trump Tariffs | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New U.S.-China Trade Negotiations Can Be A Win-Win | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Google Antitrust Remedies Could Harm US Economy and Consumers | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
New US Trade Agreements Could Grow the Economy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Justice Department Introduces ‘America First Antitrust’ Policy | Forbes
- | Antitrust and Competition Antitrust and Competition
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary