A study of the different regulation and antitrust policies implemented by governments to promote more competitive markets and prevent anti-competitive behavior such as mergers and collusion.
Market Definition: The process of identifying the relevant market for antitrust purposes, including the relevant product and geographic markets and the elasticity of demand.
Market Power: The ability of firms to raise prices and reduce output significantly above the competitive level.
Monopoly: The market situation where there is only one supplier.
Oligopoly: The market situation where there are only a few suppliers.
Price Discrimination: The practice of charging different prices for the same product in different markets.
Predatory Pricing: Pricing below cost for a period of time with the aim of driving competitors out of business.
Merger Analysis: Examining how antitrust authorities evaluate potential mergers, their effects on competition, and any possible remedies.
Cartels and Collusion: Coordination among competitors to fix prices, divide markets or restrict output.
Antitrust Law: The provisions of antitrust law designed to regulate business practices that harm competition and protect consumer welfare.
Vertical Restraints: Practices that limit the ability of buyers or sellers to engage in certain transactions, such as exclusive dealing or tying.
Horizontal Agreements: Agreements among competitors that restrict competition, such as price-fixing or market allocation.
Intellectual Property Rights: The legal mechanisms that protect ideas and inventions, including patents, copyrights and trademarks.
Network Effects: The situation where the value of a product or service increases as more people use it.
Regulatory Policy: An approach to regulating that aims to balance the interests of consumers, firms, and regulators to promote economic efficiency.
Consumer Welfare: A regulatory objective that seeks to promote the best interests of consumer preferences, including pricing, choice and quality.
Political Economy: How government policies interact with economic incentives and interests to affect regulatory outcomes.
Enforcement: Institutional and legal mechanisms used to ensure regulatory compliance and deter anticompetitive practices.
Market Structure: The characteristics of the industry that impact market outcomes, including the number of firms, barriers to entry, and concentration.
State Aids: Financial assistance that governments grant to firms that distort competition.
Competition Cases: A retrospective approach to measure the effects of antitrust enforcement cases over time.
Price regulation: Setting prices for goods or services, often through government intervention or oversight, to ensure fairness or prevent monopolistic behavior.
Quantity regulation: Limiting the amount of a product that can be produced or sold, often used to limit pollution or preserve resources.
Quality regulation: Setting minimum standards for the quality of products or services, often to protect public health and safety.
Entry regulation: Controlling who can enter a certain market or industry, often used to limit monopolies or ensure quality standards.
Exit regulation: Controlling how businesses can leave a market or industry, often used to protect consumers or prevent economic instability.
Consumer protection regulation: Setting standards and regulations to protect consumers from harm or fraud.
Competition policy: Policies aimed at promoting competition between firms, such as through antitrust laws or measures to prevent collusion.
Intellectual property regulation: Regulating the use and protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other forms of intellectual property.
Market structure regulation: Regulating the structure of a market, such as through measures to prevent vertical integration or mandate unbundling.
Regulatory capture: The phenomenon where regulations meant to protect the public interest are captured or controlled by the industries they are meant to regulate, leading to regulatory failure.