In this text, experts in the field of retail examine the effects of the contemporary growth in concentration in the European food retailing sector. In particular, the book develops a number of buyer power propositions and builds on the previous work of several of the authors, to consider how the growth of large supermarket chains affects competition in food retailing. The authors outline the theoretical and policy analysis underpinning the work and assess evidence on the size and growth of supermarket chains across the EU. Whilst not entirely critical, they suggest that there is strong evidence in some countries that supermarkets use their buying power to impose unfair terms and conditions on suppliers, particularly affecting small suppliers. The authors use case studies to provide in-depth analysis of four European countries, namely France, Germany, Spain and the UK. The book ends with a discussion of policy issues against a backdrop of likely future trends in concentration in this area.

Prepared for the European Commission - GDIV, study contract No. IV/98/ETD/078 by Dobson Consulting.

To encourage cross-border transactions in the Single Market of the European Community, the Commission has proposed general framework legislation to set general standards that forbid unfair marketing practices towards consumers, thereby increasing consumer confidence when deciding whether or not to shop abroad in the Community, either in person or through modern methods of electronic purchasing through the Internet. The essays in this volume critically examine the proposed Directive that prohibits unfair commercial practices, and in particular they consider the potential legal and economic implications of a legal duty to trade fairly in the context of general contract law, the protection of consumers, and the needs of competition policy. The distinguished authors of these essays, from Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, explain the different approaches of national legal systems to the legal regulation of marketing practices, and assess the compatibility of the proposed Directive with national law and its likely success in achieving the promotion of trade in the Single Market. About the authorHugh Collins is Professor of English Law at the London School of Economics. He studied law at Oxford and Harvard. He has published extensively in the field of contract law including The Law of Contract 4th ed (London, Butterworths, 2003), and Regulating Contracts (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999).

This is the first EU competition law treatise that fully integrates economic reasoning in its treatment of the decisional practice of the European Commission and the case-law of the European Court of Justice. Since the European Commission's move to a "more economic approach" to competition law reasoning and decisional practice, the use of economic argument in competition law cases has become a stricter requirement. Many national competition authorities are also increasingly moving away from a legalistic analysis of a firm's conduct to an effect-based analysis of such conduct, indeed most competition cases today involve teams composed of lawyers and industrial organisation economists. Competition law books tend to have either only cursory coverage of economics, have separate sections on economics, or indeed are far too technical in the level of economic understanding they assume. Ensuring a genuinely integrated approach to legal and economic analysis, this major new work is written by a team combining the widely recognised expertise of two competition law practitioners and a prominent economic consultant. The book contains economic reasoning throughout in accessible form, and, more pertinently for practitioners, examines economics in the light of how it is used and put to effect in the courts and decision-making institutions of the EU. A general introductory section sets EU competition law in its historical context. The second chapter goes on to explore the economics foundations of EU competition law. What follows then is an integrated treatment of each of the core substantive areas of EU competition law, including Article 101 TFEU, Article 102 TFEU, mergers, cartels and other horizontal agreements and vertical restraints.

“A reference book in this area of EU competition law and a must-have companion for academics, enforcers and practitioners alike, as well as EU and national judges.” Judge Nils Wahl, Court of Justice of the European Union This seminal text offers an authoritative and integrated treatment of the legal and economic principles that underpin the application of Article 102 TFEU to the behaviour of dominant firms. Traditional concerns of monopoly behaviour, such as predatory pricing, refusals to deal, excessive pricing, tying and bundling, discount practices and unlawful discrimination are treated in detail through a review of the applicable economic principles, the case law and decisional practice and more recent economic and legal writings. In addition, the major constituent elements of Article 102 TFEU, such as market definition, dominance, effect on trade and applicable remedies are considered at length. The third edition involves a net addition of over 250 pages, with a substantial new chapter on Abuses In Digital Platforms, an extensively revised chapter on standards, and virtually all chapters incorporating substantial revisions reflecting key cases such as Intel, MEO, Google Android, Google Shopping, AdSense, and Qualcomm.

The food industry is a notoriously complex economic sector that has not received the attention it deserves within legal scholarship. Production and distribution of food is complex because of its polycentric character (as it operates at the intersection of different public policies) and its dynamic evolution and transformation in the last few decades (from technological and governance perspectives). This volume introduces the global value chain approach as a useful way to analyse competition law and applies it to the operations of food chains and the challenges of their regulation. Together, the chapters not only provide a comprehensive mapping of a vast comparative field, but also shed light on the intricacies of the various policies and legal fields in operation. The book offers a conceptual and theoretical framework for competition authorities, companies and academics, and fills a massive gap in the competition policy literature dealing with global value chains and food.

Monti explores the development of EC competition law through an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on the political and economic considerations that affect the way the rules are interpreted. Written with competition law students in mind, it should also be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of EU politics and economics.