Antitrust and competition law is a fast moving area of law and the subject of extensive academic research. The aim of this volume is to select articles as tools for understanding how antitrust and competition law is applied to unilateral conduct which is harmful to the consumer and to the competitiveness of the market. The articles examine the meaning of dominance and monopolisation and show that although legal and economic rules have been developed to establish whether undertakings hold such strong market positions, it is often difficult to determine with certainty that the undertaking being investigated meets the threshold. The various debates on pricing and non-pricing conduct are also represented as are the conflicts that have arisen regarding the exercise of intellectual property rights by powerful undertakings, particularly in the context of the new economies. The volume includes scholarly articles published on both sides of the Atlantic and enables a greater understanding of the application of antitrust and competition law from the point of view of economics and politics.

The most important book on antitrust ever written. It shows how antitrust suits adversely affect the consumer by encouraging a costly form of protection for inefficient and uncompetitive small businesses.

Microeconomics is concerned with the production, consumption and distribution of goods by the micro units of individuals, firms and markets within the economy. It can also be considered a study of scarcity and the choices to be made for the attainment of goals within constraints. These goals are those set by consumers, producers and policy makers in the market. This book provides a brand new approach to the teaching and study of microeconomics – an elementary guide to the fundamental principles of the subject. It gives students from all parts of the world the opportunity to understand and appreciate the value of microeconomic tools and concepts for analyzing market processes in their economic environment, as well as maintaining a perspective on issues of trade and competitiveness, thus drawing attention to the relevance of microeconomic theory beyond the domestic scene to issues of trade and competitiveness on the international arena. The book contains a wealth of international case studies and covers topics such as: - elasticity - Cobb-Douglas Production functions - dynamic stability of market equilibrium - monopolies and monopolistic competition - project analysis The perfect introduction to the building blocks of contemporary microeconomic theory, this book will be of interest to undergraduate students in international economics, industrial economics, managerial economics and agricultural economics. It will also be a useful reference guide for graduates requiring a break down of difficult microeconomic principles.

Microeconomics: Theory & Applications, 13th Edition teaches students how fundamental tools of analysis are used explain and predict market phenomena. Designed for both economics and business students, this thorough yet accessible textbook describes basic microeconomic principles using various applications to clarify complicated economic concepts and provides an essential foundation of microeconomics knowledge. Clear and engaging chapters discuss cutting-edge models and explore numerous real-world examples of microeconomic theory in action. Comprehensive and topically relevant, this textbook offers greater coverage of input market analysis and applications than other texts on the subject. In-depth applications, such as consumer choice theory and noncompetitive market models, complement over 100 shorter applications that reinforce the graphical and logical techniques developed in the theory chapters. The authors’ innovative use of relatable applications promotes student engagement and comprehension, and facilitates a case-based, active-learning approach. Discussion of globalization, ethics, sustainability, and other important contemporary themes helps students understand how economics impacts their lives in various, often unexpected ways.

Business professionals that struggle to understand key concepts in economics and how they are applied in the field rely on Microeconomics. The fourth edition makes the material accessible while helping them build their problem-solving skills. It includes numerous new practice problems and exercises that arm them with a deeper understanding. Learning by Doing exercises explore the theories while boosting overall math skills. Graphs are included throughout the mathematical discussions to reinforce the material. In addition, the balanced approach of rigorous economics gives business professionals a more practical resource.

This book reviews the economic literature on cooperative investment in next generation broadband networks and geographic regulation. It additionally proposes innovative models for estimating the level of competition and investment in the fixed telephony market and the retail market for newspapers. In doing so, it addresses two hotly debated issues in business strategy and economic policy: the determinants of investment and competition and the impacts of innovative investment schemes. The first chapter reviews the literature on new cooperative investment schemes in next generation broadband networks and geographic regulation. The effects on competition, investment and welfare of such schemes crucially depend on the details of the agreements. For instance, in the case of joint-ventures, the manner in which investment costs are shared and internal and external access prices are determined significantly impacts the outcome. In the case of long-term access agreements, it is essential to consider how access tariffs are structured, whether they can adapt to market developments ex-post, and whether contracts are signed before or after the investment takes place. Generally, many of these agreements allow for some extent of risk sharing, offering the possibility of increasing investment incentives when firms are not risk neutral. It is suggested that regulators consider introducing regulated co-investment agreements complementing current regulation, in addition to considering geographically segmented access prices. The second chapter assesses entry and competition in local retail markets for newspapers. It builds on the new empirical industrial organisation (NEIO) literature to estimate sustainable coverage and competitive effects of entry for Swiss newspaper sellers which sell composite goods (newspapers, food and other goods of daily use). An entry threshold ratio methodology is used, allowing for model estimation even when the range of products under examination is not exactly defined and when price and quantity data are not available. It is found that under duopoly prices the market size of a Commune required for single firm entry is about twice as large as under monopoly prices. A clear and quantifiable trade-off between competition and investment therefore exists. Moreover, it is found that while a second entrant in this market strongly increases competition, further entry doesn’t have a significant additional competitive effect. From a welfare perspective, therefore, it can be stated that “two is enough” to ensure competition in this market. In the third chapter, competition and market strategies in the Swiss fixed telephony market are assessed. A market model based on a generalised version of the traditional “dominant firm – competitive fringe” model, is developed. Direct estimation of the incumbent’s intertemporal residual demand function is performed by instrumenting the market price with incumbent-specific cost shifting variables, as well as other variables. The concrete estimates show that residual retail demand for voice traffic is highly inelastic. Such a level of elasticity is only compatible with a profit maximising incumbent in the case of largely competitive conduct. It is therefore found that the Swiss incumbent acted largely competitively, and that current regulated telephony retail price caps could not be justified on the basis of a lack of competition.