Suppose There Are Two Industries, a and B

Multiple Choice

Suppose there are two industries, A and B. Suppose that mergers are proposed in both industries, and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index would increase by 500 in each one. If antitrust officials allow the mergers in industry A but challenge the mergers in industry B, the most likely explanation is that

A) there are political motivations to antitrust enforcement
B) industry A was already less competitive than industry B
C) industry A had a balanced oligopoly and industry B did not
D) industry A started as a more competitive industry than B
E) antitrust authorities made a random decision