Publications
E.CA Economists publish regularly in academic journals, competition and regulation journals and the more popular business press. We speak frequently at conferences, workshops and symposiums.
NGA: Access Regulation, Investment, and Welfare. A Model Based Comparative Analysis
Keywords: broadband, investment, regulation
Mixed bundling in merger control
Many Article 102 TFEU cases have shown that the analysis of exclusionary behaviour is tricky – even after the conduct has taken place. The analysis of conglomerate effects such as tying and bundling in merger control is even more challenging: it requires analysing the potential harm from an ex ante perspective. This note considers the question of anti-competitive effects of mixed bundling in a merger of two regional newspapers as an example. It shows a simple technique based on advertising expenditure data that identifies a limited set of potentially harmed competitors.
Keywords: Art. 102 TFEU, merger
Liberalization and Privatization of London Transport
Keywords: liberalisation, privatisation
Liberalisierung von Netzökonomien. Herausforderung für die Wettbewerbspolitik (Liberalizing Network Industries. A Challenge for Competition Policy)
Keywords: liberalisierung, netzökonomien
Is self-supply in the relevant market?
Vertically integrated firms supply upstream goods to their own downstream units (self-supply). At the same time non-integrated upstream firms may supply the upstream good to independent down-stream firms (third party sales). Should only third party sales constitute the market when calculating market share thresholds in State aid control, or should self-supply also be considered? This note shows that the presence of self-supply may significantly reduce the downward pressure on prices that can result from a State aid-induced output expansion. If so, self-supply should be considered in market definition.
Keywords: market share, self supply
Incentive to Grow : Multimarket Firms and Predation.
Keywords: multimaket
How to deal with price wars in cartel damages estimations?
A standard approach to damages estimation is to compare prices during the cartel period with prices before or after. However, it is not uncommon to see prices wars right after the cartel breaks down. As price wars are characterised by prices below the competitive level, an inclusion of price wars in the comparison period can lead to overcharges that are too high. This E.CA Compact explains how we modelled the price war period in the example of a German cement cartel.
Keywords: damage estimation, price wars
Energy: Choices for Europe
Keywords: energy, regulation
Electrified? Liberalisation of European Electricity Markets
Keywords: electricity, liberalisation
Economics on the Advance—European Reform and German Competition Policy (Die ökonomische Analyse auf dem Vormarsch – Europäische Reform und deutsche Wettbewerbspolitik)
Keywords: competition policy, european reform