Routledge Research in Competition Law – serie

Most of the competition laws currently enforced by states aim to protect consumer welfare and promote fair competition by regulating against anticompetitive behavior. Yet despite the shared objectives the global community does not have a common global competition law. In exploring the reasons for this, this book takes a unique interdisciplinary approach by using international relations theories to illustrate the relationship between the enforcement of competition laws and international relations through an analysis of competition cases relating to cartels, extraterritoriality, and corporate mergers and acquisitions.Through an examination of this relationship, this book will consider why the views held by state leaders on the condition of international relations may at times lead them to either arbitrarily over-enforce or disregard their competition laws to the detriment of fair competition and consumer welfare. This book also provides suggestions for global business investors who face competition law issues on how they may accommodate such views.

Harmonising Regulatory and Antitrust Regimes for International Air Transport addresses the timely and problematic issue of lack of uniformity in legal standards for international civil aviation. The book focuses on discrepancies within the regulatory and antitrust framework, comprehensively reveals the major legal limitations and conflicts, and presents possible solutions thereto. It discusses possible strategies for multilateralisation and defragmentation of air law, and for international harmonisation of airline economic regulation with fair competition standards. This discussion extends to competition between air transport law and other legal regimes as well as to specific regulatory problems related to air transport. The unique feature of the book is that it reconciles distinct perspectives on these issues presented by renowned aviation and aerospace experts who represent the world’s key air transport markets and air law academic centres. By providing unbiased solutions that could serve as a base for future international arrangements, this book will be invaluable for aviation professionals, as well as students and scholars with an interest in air law, economic regulation, antitrust studies, international relations, transportation policy and airline management.

The widespread move towards more market-driven models of political economy combined with the expanding internationalisation of business and commerce has led to a series of proposals for global competition rules. To date these proposals have been hotly contested. The purpose of this book is to investigate in some depth whether there is a rational foundation for pursuing international competition rules, and what form these laws should take. The book takes examples from existing competition laws around the world, in particular the US and the EU both of which have a long history of enforcing established competition rules.

This book provides a critical analysis of merger control regimes in the former socialist countries with small market economies, looking at the unique challenges facing these economies. Questions will be asked as to what extent these countries have had to follow dictation from the EU and whether this implementation of EU merger control rules has been justified from the point of view of these countries' economic situations. The book will analyse the merger control regimes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia. However, reference will be made to other small market economies of the EU including Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta in order to evaluate the particular difficulties the former socialist countries with small market economies have had in the implementation and further development of merger control rules.

This book addresses the phenomenon of mergers that may result in non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets. Such cases are sometimes referred to as "non-collusive oligopolies", or "gap cases" and there is a concern that they might not be covered by the substantive test that some Member States use for merger assessment. Ioannis Kokkoris examines the argument that the European Community Merger Regulation (Regulation 4064/89) did not capture gap cases and considers the extent to which the revised substantive test in Regulation 139/2004 deals with the problem of non-collusive oligopolies. The author identifies actual examples of mergers that gave rise to a problem of non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets, both in the EU and in other jurisdictions, and analyses the way in which these cases were dealt with in practice. The book considers legal systems such as United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand. The book investigates whether there is any difference in the assessment of non-collusive oligopolies between the various substantive tests which have been adopted for merger assessment in various jurisdictions. The book also looks at the various methodological tools available to assist competition authorities and the professional advisers of merging firms to identify whether a particular merger might give rise to anticompetitive effects and explores the type of market structure in which a merger is likely to lead to non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets.

An examination of the relationship between competition and the deregulation and liberalisation of the US and European air transport sectors reveals that the structure of the air transport sector has undergone a number of significant changes. A growing number of airlines are entering into horizontal and vertical cooperative arrangements and integration including franchising, codeshare agreements, alliances, ‘virtual mergers’ and in some cases, mergers with other airlines, groups of airlines or other complementary lines of business such as airports. This book considers the current legal issues affecting the air transport sector incorporating recent developments in the industry, including the end of certain exemptions from EU competition rules, the effect of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, the accession of new EU Member States and the Lisbon Treaty. The book explores the differing European and US regulatory approaches to the changes in the industry and examines how airlines have remained economically efficient in what is perceived as a complex and confused regulatory environment. Competition and Regulation in the Airline Industry will be of particular interest to academics and students of competition law as well as EU law.

The EU and the US are the preeminent examples of multi-level polities and both have highly developed competition policies. Despite these similarities however, recent developments suggest that they are moving in different directions in the area of antitrust federalism. This book examines multi-level governance in competition policy from a comparative perspective. The book analyses how competition laws and authorities of different levels - the federal and the state levels in the US and the national and the supranational levels in the EU - interact with each other. Inspired by the increasingly divergent policy developments taking place on both sides of the Atlantic, the author asks whether the EU and the US can draw policy lessons from each other’s experiences in antitrust federalism. Antitrust Federalism in the EU and the US reveals the similarities and differences between the European and American models of antitrust federalism whilst employing policy network models in its comparative analysis of issues such as opacity and accountability in networks. The book is essentially multidisciplinary in its effort to initiate dialogue between the Law and Political Science literatures in this field. This book will be of particular interest to academics, students and practitioners of Competition Law, Constitutional Law and Political Science.

The widespread move towards more market-driven models of political economy combined with the expanding internationalisation of business and commerce has led to a series of proposals for global competition rules. To date these proposals have been hotly contested. The purpose of this book is to investigate in some depth whether there is a rational foundation for pursuing international competition rules, and what form these laws should take. The book takes examples from existing competition laws around the world, in particular the US and the EU both of which have a long history of enforcing established competition rules.

An examination of the relationship between competition and the deregulation and liberalisation of the US and European air transport sectors reveals that the structure of the air transport sector has undergone a number of significant changes. A growing number of airlines are entering into horizontal and vertical cooperative arrangements and integration including franchising, codeshare agreements, alliances, ‘virtual mergers’ and in some cases, mergers with other airlines, groups of airlines or other complementary lines of business such as airports. This book considers the current legal issues affecting the air transport sector incorporating recent developments in the industry, including the end of certain exemptions from EU competition rules, the effect of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, the accession of new EU Member States and the Lisbon Treaty. The book explores the differing European and US regulatory approaches to the changes in the industry and examines how airlines have remained economically efficient in what is perceived as a complex and confused regulatory environment. Competition and Regulation in the Airline Industry will be of particular interest to academics and students of competition law as well as EU law.

This book addresses the phenomenon of mergers that may result in non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets. Such cases are sometimes referred to as "non-collusive oligopolies", or "gap cases" and there is a concern that they might not be covered by the substantive test that some Member States use for merger assessment. Ioannis Kokkoris examines the argument that the European Community Merger Regulation (Regulation 4064/89) did not capture gap cases and considers the extent to which the revised substantive test in Regulation 139/2004 deals with the problem of non-collusive oligopolies. The author identifies actual examples of mergers that gave rise to a problem of non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets, both in the EU and in other jurisdictions, and analyses the way in which these cases were dealt with in practice. The book considers legal systems such as United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand. The book investigates whether there is any difference in the assessment of non-collusive oligopolies between the various substantive tests which have been adopted for merger assessment in various jurisdictions. The book also looks at the various methodological tools available to assist competition authorities and the professional advisers of merging firms to identify whether a particular merger might give rise to anticompetitive effects and explores the type of market structure in which a merger is likely to lead to non-coordinated effects in oligopolistic markets.

This book provides a critical analysis of merger control regimes in the former socialist countries with small market economies, looking at the unique challenges facing these economies. Questions will be asked as to what extent these countries have had to follow dictation from the EU and whether this implementation of EU merger control rules has been justified from the point of view of these countries' economic situations. The book will analyse the merger control regimes in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia. However, reference will be made to other small market economies of the EU including Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta in order to evaluate the particular difficulties the former socialist countries with small market economies have had in the implementation and further development of merger control rules.

Harmonising Regulatory and Antitrust Regimes for International Air Transport addresses the timely and problematic issue of lack of uniformity in legal standards for international civil aviation. The book focuses on discrepancies within the regulatory and antitrust framework, comprehensively reveals the major legal limitations and conflicts, and presents possible solutions thereto. It discusses possible strategies for multilateralisation and defragmentation of air law, and for international harmonisation of airline economic regulation with fair competition standards. This discussion extends to competition between air transport law and other legal regimes as well as to specific regulatory problems related to air transport. The unique feature of the book is that it reconciles distinct perspectives on these issues presented by renowned aviation and aerospace experts who represent the world’s key air transport markets and air law academic centres. By providing unbiased solutions that could serve as a base for future international arrangements, this book will be invaluable for aviation professionals, as well as students and scholars with an interest in air law, economic regulation, antitrust studies, international relations, transportation policy and airline management.

Most of the competition laws currently enforced by states aim to protect consumer welfare and promote fair competition by regulating against anticompetitive behavior. Yet despite the shared objectives the global community does not have a common global competition law. In exploring the reasons for this, this book takes a unique interdisciplinary approach by using international relations theories to illustrate the relationship between the enforcement of competition laws and international relations through an analysis of competition cases relating to cartels, extraterritoriality, and corporate mergers and acquisitions.Through an examination of this relationship, this book will consider why the views held by state leaders on the condition of international relations may at times lead them to either arbitrarily over-enforce or disregard their competition laws to the detriment of fair competition and consumer welfare. This book also provides suggestions for global business investors who face competition law issues on how they may accommodate such views.

Exploring obstacles to effective compensation of victims of competition infringements, this book categorises the types of victims harmed and the types of losses arisen from these infringements to identify to what extent there is a need for enhanced private competition law enforcement in the European Union (EU) and the best way to address this need. It shows that there is a genuine need for facilitating consumer damages actions and that consumer claims are the only claims that can be pursued in a collective redress action. In order to compensate consumers and overcome barriers to effective enforcement of their right to damages, it structures a collective redress action for consumers by considering the following elements: i. the formation of the group, ii. the type of representative party iii. funding mechanisms and iv. calculation and distribution of damages.

This book examines infringements of competition law in public procurement settings, evaluating the latest European Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU to examine to what extent its provisions facilitate or deter collusion during specific award procedures.Public contracts account for a significant proportion of EU expenditure. In sectors such as energy, transport, social protection and the provision of health or education services, public authorities are the main purchasers. It is important to ensure that public contracts are awarded in an open, fair and transparent manner that enables domestic and non-domestic firms to compete on an equal basis, with the aim of improving the quality and lowering the price of purchases made by public authorities. This book assesses the competition law enforcement mechanisms that competition regulators bring to the area of public procurement in the attempt to deter bid rigging. It analyzes key tools for the public and private enforcement of competition law in the domain of public contracts, such as the leniency programme, damages claims for bid rigging and the whistle blower programme. The book uses auction theory as benchmark to assess the risk of collusion in the context of procurement procedures and techniques. Offering a holistic analysis informed by research, it makes recommendations for better design, set up and management of public tenders without distorting competition. Highlighting the need to make use of competition law enforcement mechanisms in the battle against collusion in public procurement, it identifies ways in which the procurement process can be improved, to reduce and prevent bid rigging.The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of competition law, public procurement and EU law.

Recent studies on competition law and digital markets reveal that accumulating personal information through data collection and acquisition methods benefits consumers considerably. Free of charge, fast and personalised services and products are offered to consumers online. Collected data is now an indispensable part of online businesses to the point that a new economy, a data-driven sector, has emerged. Many markets such as the social network, search engine, online advertising and e-commerce are regarded as data-driven markets in which the utilisation of Big Data is a requisite for the success of operations. However, the accumulation and use of data brings competition law concerns as they contribute to market power in the online world, resulting in a few technology giants gaining unprecedented market power due to the Big Data accumulation, indirect network effects and the creation of online ecosystems. As technology giants have billions of consumers worldwide, data-driven markets are truly global. In these data-driven markets, technology giants abuse their dominant positions, but existing competition law tools seem ineffective in addressing market power and assessing abusive behaviour related to Big Data. This book argues that a novel approach to the data-driven sector must be developed through the application of competition law rules to address this. It argues that current and potential conflicts can be mitigated by extending the competition law assessment beyond the current competition law tools to offer a modernised and unified approach to the Big Data–related competition issues. Promoting new legal tests for addressing the market power of technology giants and assessing abusive behaviour in data-driven markets, this book advocates for cooperation between competition and data protection authorities. It will be of interest to students, academics and practitioners with an interest in competition law and data protection.

Recent studies on competition law and digital markets reveal that accumulating personal information through data collection and acquisition methods benefits consumers considerably. Free of charge, fast and personalised services and products are offered to consumers online. Collected data is now an indispensable part of online businesses to the point that a new economy, a data-driven sector, has emerged. Many markets such as the social network, search engine, online advertising and e-commerce are regarded as data-driven markets in which the utilisation of Big Data is a requisite for the success of operations. However, the accumulation and use of data brings competition law concerns as they contribute to market power in the online world, resulting in a few technology giants gaining unprecedented market power due to the Big Data accumulation, indirect network effects and the creation of online ecosystems. As technology giants have billions of consumers worldwide, data-driven markets are truly global. In these data-driven markets, technology giants abuse their dominant positions, but existing competition law tools seem ineffective in addressing market power and assessing abusive behaviour related to Big Data. This book argues that a novel approach to the data-driven sector must be developed through the application of competition law rules to address this. It argues that current and potential conflicts can be mitigated by extending the competition law assessment beyond the current competition law tools to offer a modernised and unified approach to the Big Data–related competition issues. Promoting new legal tests for addressing the market power of technology giants and assessing abusive behaviour in data-driven markets, this book advocates for cooperation between competition and data protection authorities. It will be of interest to students, academics and practitioners with an interest in competition law and data protection.

This book explores the distinction between private and public aspects in competition law and focuses on how the concept of competition is incorporated into the legal framework.Distinguishing between antitrust regulations and competition-related legal rules in private law, such as unfair competition and contract laws, the book also differentiates between the utilitarian and deontological principles that underpin competition regulation. This historical and philosophical approach is used to compare two influential jurisdictions: England and Spain. These legal systems have had a significant impact on the development of legal rules in Common law and Civilian (Latin American) countries, respectively. Through this lens, the book further analyses the concept of "competition" and its value in each legal tradition. This understanding, in turn, helps clarify the scope of competition regulation within antitrust and private law and how the two fields coexist. Additionally, the book examines the role of property law theory in the context of competition regulation.The book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of competition law, tort law, and legal history.

This book presents a comprehensive review of the Chinese and European responses to the abuse of market dominance, with a focus on the impact of antitrust institutional dynamics on enforcement decisions.It uses the methods of functional comparison and case analysis to investigate how theories of harm relating to specific types of abuse differ within and across competition law regimes due to institutional dynamics. The Chinese and EU competition law regimes serve as excellent examples for this investigation because they have similar substantive laws on paper but vastly different institutional settings. The book examines—first individually and then comparatively—how the distinct institutional dynamics in the Chinese and EU regimes shape the development of theories of harm.This volume will appeal to competition law scholars, students, and practitioners seeking a more nuanced understanding of how competition law works in the EU and China. It will also interest scholars trying to approach the Chinese legal system from an engaging rather than alienating standpoint.

This book explores the distinction between private and public aspects in competition law and focuses on how the concept of competition is incorporated into the legal framework.Distinguishing between antitrust regulations and competition-related legal rules in private law, such as unfair competition and contract laws, the book also differentiates between the utilitarian and deontological principles that underpin competition regulation. This historical and philosophical approach is used to compare two influential jurisdictions: England and Spain. These legal systems have had a significant impact on the development of legal rules in Common law and Civilian (Latin American) countries, respectively. Through this lens, the book further analyses the concept of "competition" and its value in each legal tradition. This understanding, in turn, helps clarify the scope of competition regulation within antitrust and private law and how the two fields coexist. Additionally, the book examines the role of property law theory in the context of competition regulation.The book will be of interest to students and scholars in the field of competition law, tort law, and legal history.

This book presents a comprehensive review of the Chinese and European responses to the abuse of market dominance, with a focus on the impact of antitrust institutional dynamics on enforcement decisions.It uses the methods of functional comparison and case analysis to investigate how theories of harm relating to specific types of abuse differ within and across competition law regimes due to institutional dynamics. The Chinese and EU competition law regimes serve as excellent examples for this investigation because they have similar substantive laws on paper but vastly different institutional settings. The book examines—first individually and then comparatively—how the distinct institutional dynamics in the Chinese and EU regimes shape the development of theories of harm.This volume will appeal to competition law scholars, students, and practitioners seeking a more nuanced understanding of how competition law works in the EU and China. It will also interest scholars trying to approach the Chinese legal system from an engaging rather than alienating standpoint.

This book discusses the economic models and quantitative research involved in merger control forecasts and the relationship between antitrust law and economics. Analyzing qualitative and quantitative models within forecasts of merger control, the book applies the framework of antitrust law.This book proposes that economic modelling, econometrics application and juridical application of antitrust law go hand in hand. Discussing the question of an economically rational application and enforcement of antitrust and merger control law, the book covers both the basic concepts and theory behind economic model forecasts, as well as the application of merger control law. It also takes a closer look at legal control options for competition authorities when making a forecast decision and the associated problems of applying the law to this.The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of antitrust law, competition law, economics and corporate law.

This book discusses the economic models and quantitative research involved in merger control forecasts and the relationship between antitrust law and economics. Analyzing qualitative and quantitative models within forecasts of merger control, the book applies the framework of antitrust law.This book proposes that economic modelling, econometrics application and juridical application of antitrust law go hand in hand. Discussing the question of an economically rational application and enforcement of antitrust and merger control law, the book covers both the basic concepts and theory behind economic model forecasts, as well as the application of merger control law. It also takes a closer look at legal control options for competition authorities when making a forecast decision and the associated problems of applying the law to this.The book will be of interest to researchers in the field of antitrust law, competition law, economics and corporate law.

Through a detailed law-and-policy analysis, this book investigates competition law and policy in relation to agricultural producers, examining the topic in light of both the neoliberal agricultural policy and food sovereignty paradigms, with a focus on their differing approaches to competition and sustainability.This book addresses the increasing pressures faced by agricultural producers, stemming from two major developments: the shift towards neoliberal economic policies in agri-food markets, and the growing recognition of the agricultural sector’s role in environmental degradation due to unsustainable practices. These developments have provoked protests from farmers and prompted critical questions about how different agricultural and competition policy theories navigate the complex relationship between competition, agriculture and sustainability. By conceptualising the connections between each topic, the book comprehensively analyses their interdependence. While competition law experts frequently overlook the realities of the agricultural sector, agricultural scholars may not fully grasp the objectives of competition law. By bridging these divides, the book provides an integrated understanding of competition and agricultural policy, also with a particular focus on sustainability.This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of agricultural law and policy, and competition law and policy, as well as those interested in sustainability.

Through a detailed law-and-policy analysis, this book investigates competition law and policy in relation to agricultural producers, examining the topic in light of both the neoliberal agricultural policy and food sovereignty paradigms, with a focus on their differing approaches to competition and sustainability.This book addresses the increasing pressures faced by agricultural producers, stemming from two major developments: the shift towards neoliberal economic policies in agri-food markets, and the growing recognition of the agricultural sector’s role in environmental degradation due to unsustainable practices. These developments have provoked protests from farmers and prompted critical questions about how different agricultural and competition policy theories navigate the complex relationship between competition, agriculture and sustainability. By conceptualising the connections between each topic, the book comprehensively analyses their interdependence. While competition law experts frequently overlook the realities of the agricultural sector, agricultural scholars may not fully grasp the objectives of competition law. By bridging these divides, the book provides an integrated understanding of competition and agricultural policy, also with a particular focus on sustainability.This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of agricultural law and policy, and competition law and policy, as well as those interested in sustainability.

This book examines and compares the evolution of competition policy networks in the EU and US as a means of assessing their efficacy and adaptability to one another and as a model for other countries.The EU and US approaches to antitrust are similar to the extent that they are federal in structure and are decentralised, yet they also differ, particularly in terms of their control of state regulation. The comparison undertaken here allows analysis of whether different approaches to the regulation of antitrust federalism should be maintained or whether it is possible to suggest one approach for both systems, and thus whether there is a possibility for global harmonisation in this area of competition law. The book employs a two-stranded approach combining historical study and legal analysis. This reveals the different evolutionary stages of the two visions of antitrust federalism with corresponding competitive and political dynamics. Examples are provided of what can be considered more effective practice and the failure of the competing network to adopt that practice. It is argued that finding normative solutions is insufficient of itself as it is necessary to understand the path dependence and path creation aspects of the antitrust networks, and how learning occurs in those networks, before better practice can migrate from one system to another and inform regulatory practice more generally.The book will be of interest to academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of Competition Law and Policy, Comparative Law, Legal Theory and Law and Economics.