The Impact of Department of Defense Procurement on Competition in Commercial Markets: Case Studies of the Electronics and Helicopter Industries

摘要

The study gives a brief overview of the scope of military procurement, and sets forth the major procurement policies and practices of the Department of Defense (DoD), which annually purchases more than $100 billion in goods and services. The study focuses on two industries with large-scale military procurement, the electronics industry, in which competition appears to have been successful in forcing prices down; and the highly concentrated helicopter industry, which is dominated by only four producers. The study also sets out some policy options in the assumption that FTC will concern itself more deeply with the impact of defense procurement on competition in commercial markets, since encouraging competition in military procurement may be a responsibility for federal antitrust authorities.