Market Investigations

A New Competition Tool for Europe?

Massimo Motta, Martin Peitz, Heike Schweitzer

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781316513163
• eBook ISBN:
  9781009081665
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Labour Economics
• Index: Economics

In many economic sectors – the digital industries being first and foremost – the market power of dominant firms has been steadily increasing and is rarely challenged by competitors. Existing competition laws and regulations have been unable to make markets more contestable. The book argues that a new competition tool is needed: market investigations. This tool allows authorities to intervene in markets which do not function as they should, due to market features such as network effects, scale economies, switching costs, and behavioural biases. The book explains the role of market investigations, assesses their use in the few jurisdictions where they exist, and discusses how they should be designed. In so doing, it provides an invaluable and timely instrument to both practitioners and academics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Copyright information
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• 1 Market Investigations in the EU: A Road Map
• 2 Intervention Triggers and Underlying Theories of Harm
• 3 A European Market Investigation: Institutional Setup and Procedural Design
• 4 The Integration of Wide and Narrow Market Investigations in EU Economic Law
• 5 Market Investigations in the UK and Beyond
• 6 Market Inquiries in South Africa: Meeting Big Expectations?
• 7 An Economic Evaluation of the EC's Proposed ''New Competition Tool''
• 8 Market Investigations for Digital Platforms: Panacea or Complement?
• Index