Economies of scale vs. competition

From a historical viewpoint, the tension between economies of scale and competition is unmistakeable, as is the difficulty that the makers of competition policy and economists have had in coming to grips with it. Now, according to a review in the FT, a new book on the history of economic thought takes this as its central theme -- a must-read on my list.

Tim Harford, "Nerds and saints of economic thought," Financial Times (U.S. edition), 26 June 2006, 14 -- review of David Warsh, Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations: A Story of Economic Discovery (W. W. Norton).