Article:
Victor P. Goldberg, The Law and Economics of Vertical Restrictions: A Relational Perspective, 58 TEXAS L. REV. 91 (1979).
 

Abstract:
Antitrust law regarding vertical restrictions between franchisors and their dealers is a source of shame to many jurists, including Richard Posner and Robert Bork. Perhaps because of the intellectual confusion, the U.S. Supreme Court recently reversed the Schwinn decision, holding that some vertical restrictions deserve a rule of reason test rather than a per se standard of illegality. Professor Goldberg focuses on long-term contractual relationships—the relational exchange, in economic terms—and, specifically, on barriers to exit from those relationships and the means to alter those barriers. In construing antitrust law, courts often pursue relational governance ends, which is not bad in itself, but they do so without articulating their policy concerns, which has led to incoherence in antitrust law. Goldberg suggests changes in how courts pursue policy goals relating to antitrust laws.