European Union

Does Domestic Competition Help EU Firms Compete Abroad?

In a survey of nearly 400 European firms that export abroad, Elena Argentesi, Livia De Simone, Stephan Paetz, Vincenzo Scrutinio find that most firms believe that competition forces them to produce cheaper and higher quality products and services, allowing them to be more competitive in foreign markets.

Did the Euro Reduce Market Power?

Academics have argued that changes in product markup trends show that the European markets, abetted by the adoption of the Single Market and stronger antitrust enforcement, have become more competitive over the last half-century, whereas American markets have become more concentrated. In their research, Tommaso Crescioli and Angelo Martelli argue that a study of labor market power in Europe muddles this picture of higher competition in Europe.

The Digital Markets Act Is More Intricate Than Regulators and Detractors Give It Credit For

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), designed to regulate Big Tech, supplements current antitrust laws that pursue case-by-case analyses of business conduct with general rules to block potentially anticompetitive behaviors. Detractors criticize the DMA for its lack of nuance. Supporters applaud its general principles as a necessary bulwark against Big Tech’s market powers, which current case-by-case analysis has been unable to rein in. However, neither side appreciates the true complexity of the DMA or how its principles interact to prevent anticompetitive behavior, writes Alba Ribera Martínez.

European Digital Platform Regulation Risks Undermining Itself with Over-Centralization

Recent European digital regulation surrenders traditional key guideposts of European competition law and policy. The over-centralization of European Union antitrust authority and EU legislation risks undermining member state laws and competences. This may privilege platforms and eventually harm competition and consumers, writes Jörg Hoffmann.

Study Shows Universal Bank Trades Are Informed by Private Commercial Borrower Information

New research by Rainer Haselmann, Christian Leuz, and Sebastian Schreiber finds evidence suggesting that German banks with commercial lending relationships improve their trading positions...

New Study Warns Antitrust Inaction May Lead To Acceptable Collusion for Public Policy Considerations

The modernization of EU antitrust laws muddied the water with regard to the ways that antitrust authorities and courts should handle situations in which...

The European Union’s Big Policy Bet Against the Tech Giants

If EU policymakers are truly concerned about restoring competitiveness to digital markets, they need to adjust their expectations when it comes to data access...

How Interest Groups Utilize Reverse Revolving Doors to Influence Legislative Voting

A new study finds that legislators who worked for interest groups before taking office influence the voting behavior of their colleagues when the motion...

European Union’s Plan to Protect Whistleblowers Continues to Face Obstacles

A little over a year ago, the EU adopted the Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, a first-of-its-kind...

Taming Big Tech: What Can We Expect From Germany’s New Antitrust Tool?

Targeted at Big Tech, Germany’s new antitrust tool for dealing with large digital platforms rebalances the power between the competition watchdog and those firms. Around...

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