In some industries, monopoly is natural. One provider can serve the relevant demand cheaper than two or more firms. If the monopoly is not contestable, i.e. not controlled by a credible threat of entry, regulation is necessary. The essential facilities doctrine is one such regulatory tool. It...

Die Alternative 'Ex-Ante-Regulierung versus Ex-Post-Aufsicht' ist der Kern der ordnungspolitischen Kontroversen der letzten Jahre im Bereich der Netzindustrien - insbesondere in der Telekommunikation und der Energiewirtschaft. Die grundlegenden Reformen des ordnungspolitischen Rahmens haben in...

We study competition in the German interurban bus industry two years after its liberalization in January 2013. In addition to a brief characterization of the liberalization process and several general market developments, we provide a detailed analysis of selected market characteristics such as...

The latest European Court of Justice Judgment on margin squeeze, its decision on Case C-52/09, of February 2011, giving answer to a preliminary ruling from the Swedish antitrust authority –the Konkurrensverket- provides valuable clarification on one of the more controversial abuse of dominance...

We study competition in the German interurban bus industry two years after its liberalization in January 2013. In addition to a brief characterization of the liberalization process and several general market developments, we provide a detailed analysis of selected market characteristics such as...

This paper evaluates four publicly discussed policy options to mitigate market power in the German wholesale electricity market. These four options are: a regulatory solution favoured by the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, the implementation of a day-ahead flow-based market...

We study patterns of entry and exit in the German interurban bus industry in the first three years after its deregulation in January 2013. Using a comprehensive data set of all firm and route entries and exits, we find that the industry grew much quicker than originally expected – with...

On 9 June 2017, the 9th Amendment to the German Competition Act (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen) entered into force. It transposes the EU Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions into German law. Yet, the German legislator also took the opportunity to implement some additional changes....

Much scope remains to make regulation of product markets more conducive to competition ? notwithstanding progress in recent years ? with substantial benefits for consumer welfare, productivity and employment. While the general competition legislation and enforcement framework is mostly...