Kenneth Elzinga’s decades of scholarly research and teaching have helped shape the field of antitrust law, influenced precedent-setting cases, and inspired generations of economists.
Professor Elzinga co-created the Elzinga-Hogarty geographic market definition test, introduced in his seminal publication with Thomas Hogarty, “The Problem of Geographic Market Delineation in Antimerger Suits.” The Elzinga-Hogarty test, which has been cited by numerous courts, was the authors’ response to the U.S. government’s improper delineation of relevant geographic markets in two merger challenges. Professors Elzinga and Hogarty demonstrated that a proper geographic market definition must reflect both supply-side and demand-side factors, and described a tractable analysis—or “test”—that accounted for both sets of factors.
Professor Elzinga has served as a special economic advisor to the head of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as a consultant to the Federal Trade Commission, and has testified for both agencies. As a testifying expert, he has applied his extensive antitrust knowledge to numerous precedent-setting legal cases. He has provided expert testimony for the prevailing parties in three U.S. Supreme Court cases: Matsushita v. Zenith, Brooke Group v. Brown & Williamson, and Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS Inc.
As a revered educator at the University of Virginia, where he has taught economics to more than 50,000 students, Professor Elzinga has had prodigious academic impact.
In Matsushita v. Zenith, Professor Elzinga testified on behalf of a group of Japanese electronics companies accused of predatory pricing by U.S. manufacturers. Having conducted extensive research on the topic, he demonstrated that predatory pricing was rare, and even more rarely successful. The Court agreed.
Later, Professor Elzinga testified in Brooke Group v. Brown & Williamson (1993), a landmark case in which the Court ruled, consistent with Professor Elzinga’s testimony, that plaintiffs must show actual harm to both competitors and consumers from alleged predatory pricing. He also served as the expert in Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS Inc. (2007), in which the Court overturned 96 years of precedent regarding resale price maintenance.
Professor Elzinga’s research has appeared in leading economics and legal journals. The National Law Journal named him a trailblazer in the field of antitrust, and Who’s Who Legal has recognized him as a competition thought leader and leading competition economist.
As a revered educator at the University of Virginia, where he has taught economics to more than 50,000 students, Professor Elzinga has had prodigious academic impact. In 2017, to celebrate his achievements as a scholar, teacher, and mentor, nearly 500 alumni, parents, students and other supporters endowed the Kenneth G. Elzinga Professorship in Economics and the Law. In addition, Professor Elzinga has won several awards, including the University of Virginia’s highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson Award. The Southern Economic Association’s annual teaching award is named after Professor Elzinga in recognition of his reputation as a communicator of economics.