This paper examines the case for government-led smoothing of domestic petroleum prices in the face of volatile international prices. Governments in most developing and transition countries engage in petroleum price smoothing, as the survey of country practice carried out for this paper shows....

We analyze the impact of a merger on firms' incentives to innovate. We show that the merging parties always decrease their innovation efforts post-merger while the outsiders to the merger respond by increasing their effort. A merger tends to reduce overall innovation. Consumers are always worse...

This paper reviews the assessment of efficiency claims in recent EU mergers. It focuses on three broad issues:(a) whether efficiencies should be distinguished from other types of "pro-competitive effects";(b) how to establish the pass-on to consumers from efficiencies, and to balance this...

This report provides an overview of the main competition and regulatory issues in the Spanish gas and electricity markets, setting them in the broader context of the liberalisation of the European energy market. Public policy in energy markets needs to reconcile a number of different objectives,...

The goal of antitrust policy is to protect and promote a vigorous competitive process. Effective rivalry spurs firms to introduce new and innovative products, as they seek to capture profitable sales from their competitors and to protect their existing sales from future challengers. In this...

The goal of antitrust policy is to protect and promote a vigorous competitive process. Effective rivalry spurs firms to introduce new and innovative products, as they seek to capture profitable sales from their competitors and to protect their existing sales from future challengers. In this...