The EU electricity directive (96/92/EC) established the right of the member states to choose between Regulated and Negotiated Third Party Access (RTPA and NTPA). The interest group theory is able to explain whether the introduction of NTPA in Germany had been an interest group equilibrium under...

There is a discrepancy between Europe and the United States on whether margin squeeze is a relevant question for competition law and policy. Beyond this question, it is unclear whether law and the Cartel Office can detect margin squeeze, assuming it is necessary to look into the matter. In...

An die Zulassung der SARS-CoV-2-Impfstoffe knüpft sich die Hoffnung, die Pandemie schnellstmöglich überwinden zu können. Befragungen zeigen jedoch eine begrenzte Impfbereitschaft, die für eine Herdenimmunität eventuell nicht ausreicht. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird spieltheoretisch...

Ende Februar 2017 hat der Bundesgerichtshof Bausparkassen, die Bausparern mit vertraglich zugesicherten hohen Einlagenzinsen aus Altverträgen vorfristig gekündigt haben, Recht gegeben. Der Autor stellt die Funktionsweise des Bausparens dar. In der aktuellen Niedrigzinsphase könnte es dazu...

A legislative process is currently ongoing in the European Union to supplement the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation regarding ePrivacy regulation. The supplement is intended to complete the European data protection policy in significant areas. One addition would be for service providers...

Wettbewerbspolitisch stellt sich die Frage, ob im 5er-Oligopol mit Aral, Shell, Esso, Total und Jet Binnenwettbewerb fehlt und ob dieses Oligopol wirksam Außenseiterwettbewerb ausgesetzt ist. Nach neuartigen Daten für vier Metropolen aus 2014, die auf die Marktransparenzstelle zurückgehen,...

Recent healthcare reforms have sought to increase efficiency by introducing managed care (MC) as an alternative to conventional care. This article proposes an institutional change designed to let German consumers choose between the two settings through directing payments from the Federal Health...

In contrast to the United States, Germany decided to add margin squeeze as a legal offense to German competition law. In response to this, the problems in the gasoline market have caused major debates. This paper examines the pricing strategies by gasoline retailers and discusses the...

Do we have effective competition between the gasoline's big five oligopolists (Aral, Shell, Esso, Total and Jet) and fringe gasoline stations? Using 2014 Market Transparency price data from 66 cities with populations between 60,000 and 100,000, we analyze which brands lead price increases, the...