I am very pleased to add one Nobel laureate to my “Antitrust Conversations”: Vernon L. Smith. Vernon has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for “having established laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms.” According to the Nobel Committee, he has “laid...Read More

I asked European academics (and friends) specializing in competition law to send me the list of their three favourite articles ever written in the field, and to explain their choice. It’s nothing easy (at all), but you’ll find their contributions right below. Thibault Schrepel @ProfSchrepel **** Thibault Schrepel (VU Amsterdam/Stanford University)   1. Friedrich A....Read More

In Thinking, Fast and Slow (2013), Daniel Kahneman (Nobel recipient, 2002) devotes a chapter to what he calls “heuristic questions.” See for yourself: “A remarkable aspect of your mental life is that you are rarely stumped. True, you occasionally face a question such as 17 × 24 = ? to which no answer comes immediately to mind,...Read More

I spent last week in Brazil, where I was invited by the International Chamber of Commerce to discuss blockchain and antitrust. The event has been very informative, a great success! I warmly recommend you to go to the 2nd edition of the Brazilian Competition Day next year. I also took advantage of my stay in São Paulo...Read More

Friends, over the last several weeks, I’ve discussed my article entitled “Antitrust Without Romance” using videos. It has been a fun (and weird) experience. Whether you’d like to learn about the romantics, or to visit Amsterdam, you’ll find them all at the links below: Antitrust needs public choice Populism at antitrust agencies The newest trend in antitrust:...Read More

  You knew “I, Pencil”? Here comes “I, Bleeding Finger”!Read More

  Here’s the sixth video of my series dealing with the article entitled “Antitrust Without Romance” (to be downloaded over here). This post discusses the invisible hand; not the one of Adam Smith, but the one protecting top officials’ personal interests through institutional flaws. I am here calling for three types of reforms to ensure that antitrust agencies work for the greatest...Read More

Please find below the articles that I enjoyed during the month of June 2019. Mostly antitrust-related, but not limited to it. Learn about them on a more regular basis by following me on Twitter at @LeConcurrential. General antitrust: Remembering Regulatory Misadventures (Christine S. Wilson) Economic Analysis of Network Effects and Intellectual Property (Peter S. Menell) FTC v. Qualcomm, Antitrust, and Intellectual Property (Erik Hovenkamp) Apple...Read More

  Here’s the fourth video of my series dealing with the article entitled “Antitrust Without Romance” (to be downloaded over here). This post discusses the use of moral concepts in antitrust law, and I’ll take fairness as an example showing that antitrust law is (1) ineffective, (2) counterproductive and (3) outside the rule of law when it does...Read More

  Here’s the third video of the short mini-series dealing with my article entitled “Antitrust Without Romance” (to be downloaded over here). This post discusses a trend that is growing in antitrust circles: the demand for the creation of rules applicable to all, taken on the basis of micro-practices committed by a few. First, let’s stress the overall economic trends...Read More