This paper summarizes the economic principles of European state aid control. We start with a discussion of the economic justification for state aid control, including the definition of state aid in European law and exceptions to the general ban of state aid. We then explore the motives for...

This paper summarizes the peculiarities of online markets and discusses recent antitrust cases related to online markets. Following a brief description of the online markets' characteristics and potential tendencies for concentration the paper first discusses the antitrust allegations and...

This paper analyses the extent of inter-format retail competition between supermarkets, discounters and drugstores in Germany, using data from the German market for diapers. We estimate a random coefficient logit model at the individual household level. Based on consumer substitution patterns,...

Das Internet ist stark durch Wettbewerb zwischen Plattformen geprägt, welche potenzielle Tauschpartner zusammenbringen. Die Konkurrenz zwischen solchen mehrseitigen Plattformen und die Marktkonzentration wird maßgeblich bestimmt durch (1) die Stärke der indirekten Netzeffekte, (2) das Ausmaß...

This paper discusses the general characteristics of online markets from a competition theory perspective and the implications for competition policy. Three important Internet markets are analyzed in more detail: search engines, online auction platforms, and social networks. Given the high level...

Many cartels are formed by individual managers of different firms, but not by firms as collectives. However, most of the literature in industrial economics neglects individuals' incentives to form cartels. Although oligopoly experiments reveal important insights on individuals acting as firms,...

Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit aktuellen Wettbewerbsproblemen im deutschen Lebensmitteleinzelhandel. Im Mittelpunkt der Analyse stehen der zunehmende Konzentrationsprozess und seine Determinanten. Darauf aufbauend diskutieren wir Aspekte der Marktabgrenzung insbesondere im Hinblick auf...