If a firm is a nexus of contracts, then it is just the sum of its counterparties. It follows that when a firm monopolizes a particular market and exploits its power to impose unfavorable terms on a counterparty, the firm necessarily exploits one counterparty for the benefit of another, because...

It is in the nature of technological advance to centralize control over production and divorce it from the consumer, placing the consumer at the mercy of the producer. For most of human history, the fight for consumer rights was a fight for democracy, because the state is the ultimate...

In the early phase of transition that started with the 1990s, Central and Eastern European Countries pursued economic restructuring of the enterprise sector that involved massive injections of state support. Also foreign investment from the West and facilitation of the development of a market...

We briefly review the rationale behind technological alliances and provide a snapshot of their role in global competition, especially insofar as it is based around intellectual capital. They nicely illustrate the increased importance of horizontal agreements and thus establish the relevance of...

The paper discusses the respective roles of competition policy and sector-specific regulation for industries such as telecommunications, electricity, and gas, in which network infrastructures that are natural monopolies serve as essential facilities for anybody who wants to provide services in...

The last couple of years have seen an increasing interest in critical loss analysis, both, in academia and in practice. This development is documented by various research papers, high-level exchanges between antitrust experts as well as an increasing number of case decisions which make use of...

Germany’s manufacturing sector, which plays an important role for exports, has been performing well over the past decade in terms of labour productivity growth and international competitiveness. However, the services sector has had much slower growth rates. Competition often appears to be...

Kann eine Wettbewerbsbeschränkung Effizienzziele verfolgen? Diese Frage beantwortet der Autor mit einem deutlichen "Nein!". Ob eine Wettbewerbsbeschränkung vorliegt, eine marktbeherrschende Stellung missbraucht wird oder der Wettbewerb im Gemeinsamen Markt im Sinne der...

Dominant or apparently dominant internet platform increasingly become subject to both antitrust investigations and further-reaching political calls for regulation. While Google is currently in the focus of the discussion, the next candidate is already on the horizon - the ubiquitous online...

Information and communication technologies are transforming economies and societies around the world. In this respect, E-Commerce has the capability to build a new global economy. That is why government, industries, non-profit-organisations, trade unions and consumers would like to come together...