Chillin'Competition

The GREDEG-CNRS, OFCE and Gis LARSEN organize this Friday in Nice (France) a high level workshop on competition policy and regulation in the electricity sector. See programme below. Frederic Marty (GREDEG and CNRS) has invited me to talk about collective dominance.

I seize this opportunity to indicate that one my three research projects this year will consist in trying to apply the findings of my Phd on Oligopolies, Joint Dominance and Tacit Collusion in a sector-specific, empirical, fashion. My first target is the energy sector (electricity and gas). My assistant, Norman Neyrinck, and I, are currently drafting a paper on this. I have one or two ideas re. next targets, but it is too early to tell. Stay tuned.

Journée OFCE LARSEN elec market definition

(Image possibly subject to copyrights. Source here)

Another post related to what happened last week in Vienna. Had no time to report on this before.

As some of you may know, each year, the LIDC adopts resolutions on a competition-related issue. In so doing, the LIDC seeks to call the attention of the  decision makers to certain issues of importance for the competition law community.

This year, the LIDC had chosen to deal with the issue of the competition authorities’ discretion in the context of the investigation of competition law proceedings.

Importantly, the LIDC’s resolutions are adopted pursuant to a lenghty, representative, process, which starts very early in the year at the national level: in each member state, groups of competition experts representing not only private practice, but also academics, in-house counsels and national competition officials, appoint a national reporter who is entrusted with the duty to draft a comprehensive national report. Once the national report is approved by the national group, it is sent to an international reporter who attempts to synthetise the data and to identify points of convergence/divergence amongst national jurisdictions. Where  there is too much divergence or no common position, the international reporter can make spontaneous proposals on selected issues. The international report is presented at the LIDC annual conference. A large debate takes place between national groups, the international reporter and the General LIDC reporter (the person in charge of all scientific activities in the organization: this year Jean Louis Fourgoux). Eventually, this leads to the adoption of resolutions that are subsequently sent to competition enforcers.

A primer: this year’s resolutions can be found below.

Resolution – FINAL

Please note that next year, the conference will take place in September in Bordeaux (France). The topic is resale price maintenance and the exchange of price information through vertical relationships. The International reporter is Elisabeth Legnerfält, from the law firm DELPHI (Sweden). Nice region, nice topic and bright international reporter. A promising event.

I am flying to Vienna tomorrow for the LIDC (International League of Competition Law) annual congress. I have the great honour of being one of the two 2009 international reporters.

I attach below the programme of the conference as well as the latest draft of my international report. Looking forward to it.

LIDC – Programme Annual Congress

International Report – LIDC – Question A – Nicolas PETIT (12 10 09)