In applications as diverse as banking, supermarket and catalogue sales, it has been clearly identified that prices have a strong propensity to cluster around certain digits. This study forwards an explanation and empirical investigation of price clustering in retail markets, through an...

This study examines whether the recent UK regulatory decision to introduce a blanket ban on the joint provision of consumer lending and credit insurance was justified. This case has wide regulatory implications following international concerns that the sale of credit insurance has been...

This paper examines the joint pricing of credit insurance and unsecured lending. This case has wider regulatory implications following concerns that the sale of credit insurance as a secondary or add-on product has resulted in uncompetitive pricing, limited product utility and possible...

This study examines if, and how, branding constitutes an anticompetitive act. These questions are assessed through an examination of UK competition cases undertaken over the period 1950-2007. From this assessment it is observed that branding can facilitate excessive pricing, requires vertical...

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) allow networks of buyers and sellers to conduct business online and to exchange information more efficiently using Internet technology. Despite the benefits that e-marketplaces potentially afford firms, concerns have been raised that these markets may...

Programmes for carbon emissions reductions invariably require households to adopt energy efficiency measures such as heating controls. Thus understanding why households adopt efficiency measures and what policies can successfully increase their adoption (induced diffusion), is critically to...

Have regulators improved their capacity to detect or deter financial misconduct since the global financial crisis? This study addresses this question through an analysis that differentiates between detection and deterrence of financial misconduct over the period 2002-2016. To make this...

We explore the factors that shape the response of G20 countries to a Financial Stability Board (FSB) recommendation aimed at mitigating the risks from financial innovation. Using the FSB's Implementation Monitoring Network Surveys, we develop an index of disclosed strength of regulatory...

This study examines the frequency and form of deposit account interest rate change. Specifically, the question of whether deposit interest rate change is synchronised with other banks or staggered at periodic intervals is addressed. Overall, evidence consistent with individual banks changing...

This study provides an empirical assessment of the efficiency and interest rate changes occurring during 61 UK retail bank mergers. Key findings of the work include the general efficiency enhancing influence of UK bank mergers and the limited effect of merger on retail interest rates....