Lear, in partnership with Verian (formerly Kantar Public), has been selected by the European Commission to carry out a study on the extent and determinants of the deterrent effects of EU competition policy in the area of cartel and merger control as well as other antitrust enforcement. A correct measurement of the deterrent effects of EU competition policy enforcement is crucial for determining the overall impact of enforcement, together with the direct effect of competition policy interventions.
Continue reading Survey of Practitioners on the Deterrent Effects of EU Competition Enforcement →
In February 2023, Lear and a consortium of enterprises (including Be Smart, DIW Berlin, Fideres and University of East Anglia) have been appointed by the European Commission to design and develop a comprehensive database collecting key qualitative and quantitative information from non-simplified past Commission merger decisions. Continue reading Framework contract with DG Comp for the collection of information from past Commission merger decisions →
The Italian Antitrust Association (AAI) is hosting its Seventh Annual Conference, focusing on the latest developments in European and Italian Competition Law.
Continue reading PAOLO SPEAKS AT THE VII ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF AAI →
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has updated its Merger Assessment Guidelines to make its approach to merger assessment more in line with recent developments, especially in the digital landscape. In revising its Guidelines, the CMA paid particular attention to the role that changes in technology have been playing in shaping the way firms compete with one another. The new Guidelines are built on Lear’s recommendations on how to approach the assessment of digital mergers included in the “Ex-post Assessment of Merger Control Decisions in Digital Markets” report. These recommendations were broadly meant to address the risk of under-enforcement in digital markets. Continue reading New CMA Merger Assessment Guidelines inspired by Lear’s recommendations →
The best way to begin an economic analysis is to ask a relevant question. In a merger analysis the relevant question is: will the post-merger new entity have the ability and the incentive to exert a higher market power? But which analyses are best suited to answer these questions? This note argues that the best way to make this call is to understand first how firms compete in the market, something economists refer to as the “mode of competition”. Continue reading THE MODE OF COMPETITION: WHERE TO START AND WHEN YOU STOP IN MERGER ANALYSIS →
Lear was appointed by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) to assist in the phase II review of the proposed merger between Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (KSOE) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME), which are among the largest shipbuilders worldwide. Continue reading HORIZONTAL MERGER ASSESSMENT IN THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY →
The webinar has been organised by the European Commission (EC) on the occasion of the publication by Wolters Kluwer of an edited volume entitled “Ex Post Economic Evaluation of Competition Policy: The EU Experience. More info on the publication here
Paolo Buccirossi will intervene in the webinar by discussing the challenges posed by the ex-post evaluation of abuse of dominance cases.
To register at webinar here
Lear’s partners contributed to a recently published book on the ex-post evaluation of competition policy in the EU. The book has been edited by Fabienne Ilzkovitz and Adriaan Dierx and collects studies that range from the ex post evaluation of specific policy interventions to the assessment of the broader impact of competition policy.
The volume enhances the assessment of the economic impact of this policy, which is essential for the good functioning of the internal market in the European Union. Continue reading EX POST ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF COMPETITION POLICY: THE EU EXPERIENCE →
As part of the Technical Assistance project financed by the EBRD, Lear’s team is delivering online trainings to the officials of the Albanian Competition Authority to strengthen their skills and competencies on economic aspects of competition policy. In particular, the topics of the first set of trainings to be delivered in May 2020 are on:
Continue reading CAPACITY BUILDING TO THE OFFICIALS OF THE ALBANIAN COMPETITION AUTHORITY →
Lear together with Emilio Calvano looks at the M&A activity carried out by Amazon, Facebook, and Google between 2008 and 2018 (Argentesi et al., 2019b). Over this period, based on publicly available information, Google acquired 168 companies, Facebook 71 companies, and Amazon 60 companies. The question is whether the target companies would have grown to be viable competitors to the acquiring tech giants.
To read more on this article here
