Publications

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Recent economic literature criticises the size and mandate of public broadcasting in Germany. Technological progress has changed the methods of producing and distributing broadcasting content. Traditional broadcasting and print media have converged in a digital environment. Some of the classical arguments for publicly funded broadcasting have become invalid. This article argues that the converging media markets are nonetheless characterised by ongoing market failures, mostly because of positive external effects created by public value content. Markets will underprovide such content, which is why they should be publicly funded. We discuss the scope and form of public broadcasting and conclude that there are still economic reasons for dedicated public service broadcasters to exist.

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Hans W. Friederiszick, Theon van Dijk, and Elżbieta Głowicka published an article on the CompLaw blog, arguing for an effects-based approach when analyzing restrictions in the use and/or active support of price comparison websites by authorised dealers within a selective distribution system.

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With more than forty senior law and economic experts, the Antitrust Enforcement Symposium in Oxford has become one of the leading platforms for most recent competition policy issues around the globe. The symposium is organized by Ariel Ezrachi and Bill E. Kovacic, and supported by E.CA Economics. This year it featured keynote speeches by Maureen Ohlhausen, FTC, Paul Johnson, Canadian Competition Bureau and Bob Marshall, Bates White. Hans W. Friederiszick, E.CA Economics, contributed to the panel discussion on digital markets.

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DG COMP organized a workshop in Brussels on 21st June 2017 with economic experts on the quantification of passing-on of overcharges in damages actions. Academic presentation were given by Roman Inderst, Özlem Bedre-Defolie, Markus Reisinger, André Romahn, Frank Verboven, Frode Steen and other.

Hans W. Friederiszick, E.CA Economics, discussed the practical feasibility specifically highlighting the discrepancy between economic and legal causality according to the recent Sainsbury’s vs. MasterCard decision (CAT, 2016).

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Simone Kohnz gave a presentation at CMS-Roadshow Kartellrecht 2017 in Stuttgart on the methods of cartel damage estimation. She discussed different approaches to estimate cartel overcharges and the impact of market conditions and data availability on the choice of the appropriate method. She also presented factors that influence the likelihood and extend of pass on of overcharges to consumers.

Dr. Hans W. Friederiszick gave a presentation at the E.CA Compettion Law & Economics Expert Forum held in Brussels on 31 May 2017.

The E.CA Expert Forum, held annually, offers insights into recent developments in competition law and economics with a special focus on market definition for merger and antitrust purposes. The EU Notice on Market Definition was published in 1997 and has been widely used ever since. This year marks its 20th anniversary and we will take this opportunity to review some of the “classic” methods and issues related to market definition and look ahead at new questions arising in the era of fast-moving digital markets and two-sided platforms;

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The Fehmarn Belt is a strait between Denmark and Germany, currently served by a ferry operator. We analyse competition between the ferry service and a planned tunnel, the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link. We develop a differentiated duopoly model to address two questions: 1. Will the tunnel induce the ferry to exit the market once it operates? 2. Will the tunnel’s toll revenue suffice to cover its cost? Using real-world data and traffic forecasts, we show that it should not be taken for granted that the ferry will exit the market, and that if the ferry competes, the tunnel project will make a loss.