The digital economy offers significant benefits to consumers, not least by enabling access to new markets and widening search on and speedier reach to existing ones. However, many digital markets exhibit characteristics that can lead to excessive market concentration and raise various competition concerns. This course will examine the market features that may prevent digital markets from functioning well and discuss potential regulatory interventions and their effectiveness. Special attention will be given to digital platforms, ecosystems, digital mergers, and the growing influence of artificial intelligence.
The course is aimed at those who are relatively new to competition policy. Taught by academic experts and experienced economic practitioners, it offers a comprehensive perspective on the emerging challenges and solutions in regulating digital markets in the EU/UK context.
Speakers will include representatives from Cornerstone Research, Oxera Consulting LLP, FTI Consulting, London School of Economics, and Keystone.
Thursday, 20 March 2025
SESSION 1: Introduction to Digital Markets
9:15-11:00 Elisa Mariscal and Matthias Lux, Cornerstone Research
This session will provide an overview of the unique characteristics of digital markets, emphasizing network effects and data accumulation. It will also introduce the concept of digital ecosystems and their significance in merger analysis. It will conclude with a brief discussion of evolving regulatory frameworks, particularly the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and similar initiatives.
SESSION 2: Abuse of Dominance
11:15-13:00 Arina Nikandrova, City St George's, University of London
Large digital platforms have emerged as digital gatekeepers, creating potential bottlenecks between businesses and consumers. This session outlines theoretical frameworks within which to analyse the anticompetitive conduct by digital firms.
SESSION 3: Abuse of Dominance: Practitioner's View
13:45-15:30 Avantika Chowdhury and Helen Ralston-Smith, Oxera Consulting LLP
We will begin with a review of several leading cases handled by DG Comp, the CMA, and through private litigation, including those involving Google, Qualcomm, Apple, and Booking. Topics will include self-preferencing, price parity, and excessive pricing. We will conclude with some general observations on conducting real-world analysis in both administrative and litigation settings
SESSION 4: Digital Mergers
15:45-17:30 John Davies, Independent economist
Assessing mergers of firms providing digital services is often challenging for competition agencies, reflecting the complicated economics of the sector. They might have to consider for example whether combining data sets raises competition concerns; assess merger effects on innovation or on zero-priced products or assess whether a merger could 'tip' a new market towards monopoly.
When a tech giant buys a start-up is that a 'killer acquisition' to remove a future rival, or a socially-valuable way of encouraging innovation?
This session will explore the economics and practical approach to such questions.
Friday, 21 March 2025
SESSION 5: Digital Markets Regulation in the EU & UK
9:15-11:00 Joe Perkins, FTI Consulting
Recent years have seen dramatic developments in the regulation of digital markets, particularly with the adoption of the DMCC Act in the UK and the Digital Markets Act in the EU. This session will outline how the new regulatory frameworks differ, how they have been applied to date, and what economic impacts we might expect to see.
SESSION 6: Regulatory Failure and Institutional Challenges
11:15-13:00 Geoffrey Myers, London School of Economics
This session explores risks of regulatory failure, including the scope for systemic regulatory failure risks when a new regulatory regime is set up, as well as the potential for weaknesses in specific regulatory rules or remedies in complex and dynamic digital markets. It also considers institutional challenges faced by the public authorities empowered as digital market regulators in the new regimes – typically competition authorities (e.g. DG Comp, CMA) who need to adapt to new challenges.
SESSION 7: Rise of AI and the Associated Competition Challenges
13:45-15:30 Emily Chissell, Keystone
Gen AI has emerged as a critical force that could reshape digital markets and the approach to regulation. This session provides an introduction to foundation models, the technology underpinning them, recent trends in their development and the challenges facing regulators. We will pay special attention to how competition is developing across the AI stack and the impact of developments such as the increasing shift to AI agents, which can take actions on behalf of businesses or users.
SESSION 8: Case Studies
15:45-17:30 Elisa Mariscal and Matthias Lux, Cornerstone Research
This session will review several recent digital mergers in more detail.
Speakers
Sessions 1 and 8
Elisa Mariscal, Principal, Cornerstone Research
Elisa Mariscal has over twenty years of international experience consulting on competition policy, antitrust, and merger review matters. At Cornerstone Research, she analyses competition conditions and regulatory policy in digital economy and platforms businesses, as well as financial markets, renewable and clean energy, retail, and telecommunications, among other industries. Elisa’s work has spanned jurisdictions in North America, Central and South America, and Europe. She has worked as an expert and prepared expert reports on behalf of private parties; and has consulted with various international agencies including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Elisa served as head of the unilateral conduct area at the Mexican Competition Commission and has been a member of its Expert Advisory Group on Digital Economy. She founded and served as managing director at GAMES Economics.
Matthias Lux, Principal Specialist, Cornerstone Research
Matthias Lux has more than fifteen years of data science and statistics experience, with a focus on algorithm development and testing, randomized experiments, causal inference, and machine learning (ML). As a member of Cornerstone Research’s Applied Research Centre, he supports clients and experts on matters at the intersection of economics and ML, including data-intensive issues arising in commercial litigation and regulatory investigations. Before joining Cornerstone Research, Matthias worked as a data scientist at technology companies in the U.S. and the UK in the ride-sharing and food delivery sectors. In those contexts, he developed dynamic pricing algorithms, designed ML algorithms to analyse randomized experiments, and evaluated the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.
Session 2
Arina Nikandrova, Senior Lecturer, City St. George’s, University of London
Arina Nikandrova is a microeconomist. Her research interests lie in the field of microeconomic theory and applications, focusing on information acquisition in selling mechanisms, dynamic learning and competition economics. At City St. George’s she teaches various courses including Industrial Organisation. Outside academia, she is currently an academic affiliate at NERA Economic Consulting. In the past, she was an adviser to RBB Economics and worked for Ofcom. In these roles, she has advised on a wide range of competition issues covering horizontal mergers, auction design, and abuse of dominance enquiries.
Session 3
Avantika Chowdhury, Partner, Oxera Consulting LLP
Avantika Chowdhury provides expert economic advice on competition matters and commercial disputes, including antitrust and damages litigation. She has advised clients in relation to mergers, horizontal and vertical agreements, and abuse of dominance, including in the context of private litigation and investigations by the European Commission and other competition authorities. Avantika has acted as an expert in antitrust and damages litigation and in wider commercial disputes before the High Court in England, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, and courts in Ireland and the Netherlands. She has broad sectoral experience, with specific expertise in the life sciences and technology sectors and in digital and intellectual property issues. She is listed in The International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists and is an active contributor to policy discussions through regular publications and speaking engagements.
Helen Ralston-Smith, Partner, Oxera Consulting LLP
Helen Ralston-Smith has 15 years of professional experience in applying economic principles to issues of strategic importance for businesses, predominantly in the context of litigation and competition investigations. Much of her work has focused on high-profile cases such as the European Commission’s investigations into foreign exchange trading and government bond trading, as well as national competition and regulatory authority investigations into parity clauses and allegations of excessive pricing. Helen testified at the UK CAT on behalf of Comparethemarket in its appeal of the CMA’s infringement decision regarding its use of MFNs in home insurance, where she was described by the CAT as ‘a formable witness, clearly master of her discipline’. She has also presented oral evidence to the European Commission and the CMA, as well as to international regulators and authorities such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Mexican competition authority. Helen has been listed in ‘30 in their 30s’ Notable Women Competition Professionals and nominated in 2023 Women@ Shining Star category.
Session 4
John Davies, Independent economist
John Davies began his career in 1994 as a consulting economist specializing in regulation and competition, working on mergers, regulatory reviews in gas, electricity and airports and privatization of utilities. From 2003 to 2008 he was director of economic analysis and then chief economist at the UK Competition Commission (CC), leading economic analysis on all the CC’s cases, including major market and merger investigations. In 2008, he founded and led the Competition Commission of Mauritius. In 2011, John Davies moved to head the OECD’s competition division, organizing global agency meetings and advising governments. John returned to consulting in 2016-2023 as Executive Vice President at Compass Lexecon, where advised clients on a wide range of competition matters, with a particular focus on pharmaceuticals and the tech sector. Currently, John is an ordinary member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Session 5
Joe Perkins, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Joe Perkins is an expert economist with 20 years of experience as a professional economist in academia, consulting and government. At FTI Consulting he advises clients on regulatory and competition matters, with a focus on digital, energy and regulated utilities. Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Joe was the head of research and senior vice president at Compass Lexecon. From 2016 to 2020 he was chief economist at British energy regulator Ofgem, where he was responsible for overall analytical strategy and quality assurance, and analysis of energy sector developments. Prior to this, Joe was director for regulation, consumers and competition at the National Audit Office, responsible for value for money audits of economic and financial regulation and the competition and consumer protection regimes. He began his career as an economist at HM Treasury.
Session 6
Geoffrey Myers, Visiting Professor in Practice, London School of Economics
Geoffrey Myers is Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics and Political Science, teaching regulation and public policy. He is an economist with 30 years’ practitioner experience in regulation, competition, market design and spectrum policy especially at Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator. He also advises a number of public authorities, including as an independent Digital Expert for the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
Session 7
Emily Chissell, Principal, Keystone
Emily Chissell has over 15 years of experience as a competition practitioner undertaking analysis, research, providing advice and overseeing the delivery of large complex investigations. She has been at Keystone for over 2 years providing advice and support to a range of primarily tech clients on mergers and digital regulation. Prior to Keystone she was a Director at the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), where she led market and merger investigations, including the CMA's widescale market study into mobile ecosystems and the preparation of the market investigation into mobile browsers and cloud gaming. She also worked closely with the CMA's Digital Markets Unit in advising on its wider portfolio of cases and digital regulation. Her sector experience beyond digital is wide ranging, covering telecoms, banking, aggregates, healthcare and electric vehicle charging. She has also led high-profile merger investigations and a super-complaint on loyalty penalties.