, Columnist
Beware of Consultants Bearing Rosy News About Mergers
Economists who are paid millions by companies have a strong incentive to say their takeovers don't hurt competition.
Don't worry. The economist said we were cool.
Photographer: Attila Kisbenedek/afp/getty imagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Amid the blizzard of election news last November, two writers at the nonprofit news organization ProPublica came out with a startling investigative report. Jesse Eisinger and Justin Elliott wrote about a small but very wealthy group of American economists who make millions of dollars helping companies deal with the federal government on antitrust cases.
They focused on Dennis Carlton, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and a senior managing director at the consulting firm Compass Lexecon. According to Eisinger and Elliott, Carlton has been paid more than $100 million from consulting activities during his career.