CCP 12th Annual Conference 

9-10 June 2016, OPEN, 20 Bank Plain, Norwich

Competition Policy in Financial Markets 

The CCP's 12th Annual Conference on Competition Policy in Financial Markets took place on the 9-10 June 2016 and was fittingly based at OPEN, the premises of the former regional headquarters of Barclays Bank until 2003.

With over 120 delegates in attendance, the programme for this year's event boasted a variety of perspectives with a strong policy focus from a truly multi-disciplinary line-up, with speakers from Law, Economics, Politics and Philosophy, and with a strong policy focus to provide a range of different perspectives.

With the promotion of competition being an increasingly key element of financial services regulation, this two day conference will focus on the challenges and complexities of formulating competition policy across a diverse set of financial services markets, from banking, pensions and insurance to derivatives and currency exchange. The challenges facing regulators and competition authorities in these markets are complicated by the existence of strong behavioural biases amongst market participants, an increasing reliance on digital systems of trade and information exchange, and systemic risks within this most important of sectors

Presentations

The Economics of Creativity and Competition : New Markets, New Challenges

CCP 11th Annual Conference 

18-19 June 2015, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Competition in the Digital Age

The Centre for Competition Policy’s 11th Annual Conference took place on the 18 – 19 June and this year focused on Competition in the Digital Age – a timely topic given the attention digital markets have recently received.

Opened by Centre Director Morten Hviid and co-organiser Franco Mariuzzo, the conference explored the fascinating developments and unresolved competition issues that the digital economy has thrown up, including consumer search, information collection, information processing, comparison websites, internet platforms, privacy, consent, trust and evidence, approached from several different disciplines including computer science, economics, law and politics.

Presentations

Valuing Intangibles: Ranking Brands, Measuring Trade Mark Use 

25 November 2014, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, London

As a part of the ESRC Google Data analytics Social Science Research Project, the Queen Mary Centre for Globalisation Research and CCP organised a workshop to help collect feedback on Google Trends and to spread knowledge about what we have learned in using this data.

The workshop comprised of three main presentations on:

1. Results on data obtained from Google Trends, and details on linking and using the data.
2. Results on changes in brand value in the car industry as a result of product recalls.
3. Findings from our work on brand value of listed companies in Europe.

About the project: 

The aim of this project is to contribute to the measurement and understanding of intangible
assets, specifically of brands.

The project has two main objectives:

1. To collect data from Google Trends on the frequency with which brands and trade marks are cited there and to show how the data can be used reliably.
2. To study the value and use of brands and trade marks in the United Kingdom and Europe with the help of data from Google Trends.

To identify exogenous changes in brand value we have chosen to focus part of our work on the brand value of car manufacturers and car models in the UK and Germany. Recalls of these products allow us to identify significant negative shocks to brand value in this industry.

Full programme 

CCP 10th Annual Conference 

12-13 June 2014, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Problem Markets

With a record number of over 120 delegates from the worlds of academia and practice, this month saw the CCP 10th Annual Conference take place on the 12th and 13th June. 

This year the focus was on Problem Markets - the markets that appear to some not to be working well for the consumer and can often seem a bit ‘too hot’ for regulator to handle. This provides a stream of work for competition agencies and the conference examined key themes from a variety of multi-disciplinary perspectives.

Factors identified as potentially creating problem markets included economic factors, both the demand-side and supply-side, as well as wider political and social factors. The potential to which intervention can help matters was also discussed, with reflection on the legal framework and past case experience in the UK, EU and US, as well as on number of specific ‘problem' sectors such as financial services, health, energy and air transport.

Speakers came from a variety of disciplines and included leading international academics from University of California, University of Liège and Norwegian School of Economics, and representatives from both the public, private and third sector such as the Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom, RBB Economics and Which?

Presentations

8th CLEEN Workshop 2014

10-11th June 2014, University of East Anglia, Norwich

On the 10th and 11th June, the Centre of Competition Policy (CCP) was pleased be host to the 8th Competition Law and Economics European Network (CLEEN) Workshop.

The workshop showcased the work of early career researchers from the networks member’s institutions. Those represented this year came from the Amsterdam Centre for Law and Economics, University of Amsterdam; European University Institute, Florence; the Bergen Center for Competition Law and Economics at the Norwegian School of Economics and the University of Bergen; Mannheim Centre for Competition and Innovation Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn; and, the Tilburg Law and Economics Centre (TILEC), Tilburg University.

With over 45 delegates in attendance the presentations that took place over the two days were on a variety topics ranging from Empirical Issues to Healthcare, Collusion to Public Goods and Procurement, and Mergers and Vertical Issues.

The network, which was originally established by CCP and TILEC, has created a productive working relationship among a number of European institutions for Law and Economics. Now in its 8th year the workshop has proved invaluable in helping to establish links and create an effective exchange programme which has helped merge ideas and generate potential research projects. 

CCP 9th Annual Conference 

6-7 June 2013, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Instiutions and Competition Policy

Always at the heart of competition policy, institutions have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. New agencies have been created in transition states, while established authorities in Europe have undergone change and reform. Curiously, the growing consensus on the principles and practise of competition policy has not been accompanied by a convergence on organisational form or legal frameworks.

With an audience approaching 100 delegates, the conference brought together a multidisciplinary group of renowned economists, historians, legal scholars and political scientists from both academic and practitioner backgrounds. The conference assessed the importance of institutional design, analysed the impact of institutions and investigated processes of organisational and legal change. The event was held at the UEA Drama Studio, our ever-popular venue which has, for many years, provided an ideal backdrop for rigorous academic debate.

Speakers: William E. Kovacic, George Washington University; Laurent Warlouzet, Université d’Artois; Stephen Martin, Purdue University; Tomaso Duso, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics; Steve Davies, University of East Anglia; Imelda Maher, University College Dublin; Hussein Kassim, University of East Anglia; Kathryn Wright, University of York; David Gerber, Chicago-Kent College of Law; Francisco Marcos, IE Law School; Bruce Lyons, University of East Anglia; Maarten Pieter Schinkel, Amsterdam Centre for Law and Economics; Thibaud Vergé, Autorité de la Concurrence; Alex Chisholm, UK Competition and Markets Authority; Peter Freeman, Competition Appeal Tribunal; Jacques Steenburgen, KU Leuven; Hassan Qaqaya, UNCTAD; and Sean Ennis, OECD.

Presentations

Network of Industrital Economists Winter Conference (NIE)

14 December 2012, London

We were delighted to host the Network of Industrial Economists (NIE) Winter Conference which focused on Competition Issues in the Health Sectors. 

Competition Issues in the Health and Pharmaceutical Sectors

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 set efficiency and quality as priorities in the provision of health care in the UK. The Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts, now called Monitor, is the institution recognized to promote such market conditions. This potentially shifts the full force of competition law and policy into the area of healthcare, and brings with that an increased need for Industrial Economics research.  The key role of Industrial Economics research in the health sector was factored in the keynote lecture that Professor Michael Katz gave at the most recent European Conference for Research in Industrial Economics (EARIE) in Rome.  While such research is well established in the US, this is less so in Europe and the aim of this conference is to show case some existing empirical research to illustrate what is currently going on and hopefully inspire future research.  In addition to its academic merits, such research will provide much needed information for policy makers. 

Programme:

Session 1: Health Sector Competition Issues

Chair: Bruce Lyons, University of East Anglia, School of Economics and Deputy Director of the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy.

Hugh Gravelle, University of York, Centre for Health Economics, "Competition, prices, and quality: Australian GPs"

Gautam Gowrisankaran, University Arizona, Department Economics, "Mergers when prices are negotiated: Evidence from the hospital industry"

Session 2: Pharmaceutical Sector Issues

Chair: Morten Hviid, University of East Anglia, Law School and Director of the ESRC Centre for Competition Policy

Pierre Dubois, Toulouse School of Economics & CEPR, "The effects of price regulation on pharmaceutical industry margins: A structural estimation for anti-ulcer drugs"

Farasat Bokhari, University of East Anglia, School of Economics & Centre for Competition Policy, "Specifications in demand systems for drugs: logits v. aids"

Session 3: New Researcher Presentations

Chair: Franco Mariuzzo, University of East Anglia, School of Economics & ESRC Centre for Competition Policy

Charlotte Davies, University of East Anglia, Medical School "Market structure in medical devices: An example of the hip prostheses market"

Kathleen Nosal​, University of Mannheim, Department of Economics, "Estimating switching costs for Medicare advantage plans"

Sotiris Vandoros, London School of Economics Health, "Therapeutic substitution post patent expiry"

Closing Remarks:

Chris Pike, Co-operation and Competition Panel

Franco Mariuzzo​, University of East Anglia, School of Economics and Centre for Competition Policy

Competition in Practice Seminars

October - December 2012

CCP launched an occasional series of early evening lectures by practitioners to supplement our regular Friday lunchtime sessions - in the inaugural lecture Iain Osborne, Group Director of Regulatory Policy, Civil Aviation Authority talked on the extremely topical issue of "Airports around London: Competition, regulation and capacity". Before moving to the CAA, Iain was CEO of the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, and has previously held senior roles within the telecoms industry, OFGEM and at the European Commission.

This series was designed for members of CCP, students (postgraduate and undergraduate) and local practitioners with an interest in competition and regulation policy. These talks were designed to be of wider and more applied interest and individuals external to UEA were most welcome to attend.

11 October 2012: Iain Osborne, Group Director of Regulatory Policy, Civil Aviation Authority

"Airports around London: Competition, regulation and capacity"

1 November 2012: Adrian Majumdar, Partner, RBB Economics

"Coordinated effects and the Anglo American / Lafarge JV: cementing good practice or throwing theory in the mixer?"

6 December 2012: Keith Jones, Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP

CCP 8th Annual Conference

June 2012

What Do Public and Private Sanctions in Competition Policy Actually Achieve?

Accompanied by a consultation on private antitrust actions, numerous questions as to the effect and interplay of public and private sanctions have been raised by the current shake-up of the UK public enforcement framework. The European Commission has also attempted to provide guidance for the quantification of harm in private antitrust actions.

The CCP’s 8th annual conference brought together experts from the USA, Australia and Europe to discuss these developments from an economic, legal and political-science perspective. The speakers provided a framework for appraising the effects and achievements of public and private sanctions in the UK and the EU.

Topics included the current approach to cartel sanctions, leniency and the interplay of public and private enforcement. In addition, the conference sought to stimulate the discussion about the on-going consultation on private antitrust enforcement in the UK.

Speakers:  Amelia Fletcher, OFT; Lee McGowan, Queen’s University Belfast; Kai Hüschelrath, ZEW; Niamh Dunne, University of Cambridge; Francisco Marcos, IE Law School; Christine Parker, Monash University; Cento Veljanovski, Case Associates; Morten Hviid, University of East Anglia; and Sebastian Peyer, University of East Anglia; David Ulph, University of St Andrews; Angus MacCulloch, Lancaster University; Peter Ormosi, University of East Anglia; Bruce Wardaugh, Newcastle University; Anna Morfey, Freshfields Bruckhaus & Deringer LLP; John Holmes, Which? magazine; Iain Mansfield, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; Sebastian Peyer, University of East Anglia; Maarten Pieter Schinkel, ACLE; and Bob Feinberg, American University. 

Presentations

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2011

30 October 2011 & 2 November 201, The Forum, Norwich

How Smart Do You Shop? 

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 11, CCP iheld an event over two days at the Forum in Norwich that aimed to help energy customers find the best deal and learn more about recent policy developments relating to consumer rights.

How smart do you shop? gave the public an opportunity to discuss their interactions with the retail and services market. Through one to one discussions, a 'switching' clinic offering advice on the cheapest deals, displays and interviews, members of the public were encouraged to share with us their experiences in these markets.

Members of the public were asked to bring along their gas and electricity bills going back up to two years if possible, and Centre experts provided advice in a ‘energy switching clinic' to help people find their cheapest supplier.

The event was held as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, which runs nationally from 29 October to 5 November. More information on their current festival can be found here. 

CCP 7th Annual Conference

16-17 June 2011, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Consumers in Competition Policy

CCP’s 2011 annual conference on the role of Consumers in Competition Policy addressed questions surrounding consumer behaviour in markets. The importance of behavioural biases in assessing both how markets work and how competition concerns may be remedies is a key current policy issue.

The topics of the presentations included the factors that determine how active consumers are, their switching behaviour, whether the markets deliver what consumers actually want and the policy implications.

The mixture of economics, law, management and political science perspectives, and of theoretical and empirical papers, underlined CCP’s unique role in this area and provoked lively and constructive debate.

Speakers: David Reiley, Yahoo Research; Christine Jolls, Yale Law School; Kati Cseres, Amsterdam Center for Law and Economics; Florian Zettelmeyer, Northwestern University; Catherine Waddams, University of East Anglia Geraint Howells, University of Manchester;  Gunnar Trumbull, Harvard Business School; Michael Harker, University of East Anglia; Adam Land, UK Competition Commission; Spencer Weber Waller, Loyola University Chicago; Meghan Busse, Northwestern University; Catherine Ball, University of East Anglia; Graham Loomes, University of East Anglia; Steve Puller, Texas A&M University; and Bob Sugden, University of East Anglia.

5th CLEEN Workshop 2011

9-10th May, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

CCP PhD students Sven Gallasch (LAW) and Ali Massadeh (LAW) presented at the workshop organised by the Competition Law and Economics European Network (CLEEN) workshop, at the European University Institute.

Sven presented 'AstraZeneca vs. Walker Process - A Real EU-US Divergence or Just an Attempt to Compare Apples to Oranges'. Ali's presentation title was 'An Empirical Assessment of the European Commission Enforcement of Competition Law'. 

More information on CLEEN

CCP New Researchers Workshop 2011

15 June 2011, University of East Anglia, Norwich

The 2011 New Researchers workshop focussed on the topic of consumers.

New Researchers from Tilburg University, European University Institute and Toulouse School of Economics joined CCP members and students in discussions on consumers, including hospital mergers, consumer representation and perceptions, retail electricity markets, Broadband markets and the German electricity market.

ACE Annual Conference 2010

11-12 November 2010, John Innes Centre, Norwich

The Centre for Competition Policy co-hosted the 8th annual conference of the Association of Competition Economics (ACE). 

The conference brought together leading academics with senior practitioners in both competition agencies and private practice and was attended by leading competition economics academics from across the globe, senior officials from numerous competition agencies including the UKs Competition Commission, Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice as well as representatives of many of the leading competition economics consultancies.

Participants discussed a wide range of significant recent competition decisions from across Europe.  CCP members Professor Morten Hviid and Professor Bruce Lyons provided an academic perspective on recent decisional practice in the area of mergers and state aid in Banking and Professor Paul Dobson (NBS) chaired a session on airline alliances, following the EUs One-world decision.

Other topics included the abuse of dominant positions, the Kraft/Cadbury merger and the groceries market.  HM Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk Richard Jewson Esq. opened the conference. Presentations are available on the ACE website.

CCP London Seminar 2010

22 September 2010, UEA London

What has Competition Ever Done for Me? 

This CCP hosted a seminar discussed how action in competition policy has benefitted citizens and launched a series of SSF talks, held throughout the autumn, to promote the faculty's research strengths.

At the seminar Centre member Hussein Kassim (PSI) discussed 'Air Transport and the European Union: How Brussels freed the skies', Michael Harker (Law) presented 'Content is King: BSkyB, Ofcom and the FA Premier League' and Andreas Stephan (Law) talked on antitrust regulation, 'Theft by Well Dressed Thieves?'. Thomas Sharpe QC from One Essex Court and a member of the CCP Advisory Board spoke on 'Costs and benefits of Competition Policy: some problems with official enforcement'. 

Programme

CCP 6th Annual Conference

17-18 June 2010, University of East Anglia

Vertical Restraints 

Delegates from around the world met to discuss recent findings on Vertical Restraints, with particular interest on how the improvement in the economic understanding, both in terms of theory and empirics, has or can be translated into enforcement reality. The conference started off with two papers providing the bigger picture of exclusionary vertical contracts. 

A number of theoretical papers focused on specific vertical means to achieve exclusion or foreclosure. In an area with a need for empirical research, we were fortunate to a number of empirical papers on a diverse range of topics and industries including the hotel industry, broadcasting and the Peruvian Anchovy Fishery. 

Finally, several presentations at the conference explicitly considered how the economic insights have been or should be translated into legal approaches.

Speakers: Daniel Crane, University of Michigan; Ralph Winter, University of British Columbia; Greg Shaffer, University of Rochester; Abraham Wickelgren, University of Texas at Austin; Francine Lafontaine, University of Michigan; John Asker, NYU; Frank Verboven, K.U Leuven; Michael Harker, University of East Anglia; Andreas Stephan, University of East Anglia; Patrick Rey, University of Toulouse; Cedric Argenton, University of Tilburg; and Andrew Gavil, Howard University. 

Presentations

CCP New Researchers Workshop 2010

16 June 2010, University of East Anglia, Norwich

CCP's 2010 new researchers workshop was another great success. Centre students were joined by new researchers from other UK and European Institutions to present their work in an informal environment. The workshop was not only attended by the Centre's students and researchers, but by faculty and members of other schools within UEA. 

Programme

Regulatory Policy Institute Conference 

8 March 2010, Westminster, London

The Role of Competition in Public Policy

The issue of Competition in Public Policy was discussed by over a hundred policymakers, practitioners and academics at a joint conference hosted by the CCP and Regulatory Policy Institute (RPI).

Distinguished contributors delivered talks on competitive and regulatory processes, UK competition law the next decade in competitive markets.
 
From an international perspective, Professor Carl Shapiro, Chief Economist in the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice spoke on the US perspectives on the role of antitrust policy and Chief Economist at DG Comp, Damien Neven went on to discuss competition policy in the EU.
 
The chair of the UK Competition Commission Peter Freeman, the CEO of the Office of Fair Trading John Fingleton and Professor John Vickers from the University of Oxford also presented as part of the programme.
 
Professor Catherine Waddams chaired two of the sessions and delivered her own presentation on competition and consumer protection issues in retail energy markets. For a full programme of the day and to view presentation slides click here.

CCP Five Year Celebration with William Kovacic

October 2009, University of East Anglia 

CCP celebrated its fifth anniversary with a public lecture and reception with William E Kovacic, of the US Federal Trade Commission and EK Gubin Professor of Contracts Law at George Washington University. The lecture was titled "The International Competition Network and its Relationship to Academic Research Institutions".

CCP 5th Annual Conference 2009

18-19 June, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Cartels and Tacit Collusion

CCPs fifth annual conference was devoted to cartels and tacit collusion. Some presentations focused solely on the cartel problem by asking how are successful cartels organised and how do they overcome the problem of monitoring what fellow conspirators do? What are the harms from cartel activity and how do we measure this? And, what are the roles and effects of compliance programmes? Some looked at tacit collusion and the problems caused by various features such as cost asymmetries, transparency, hub and spoke agreements and contract bidding, whilst others were directed on the interface between the two, in particular on the role of firm numbers and on asymmetries in size. Several papers used experimental methods to explore the role of excess capacity, of leniency programmes, of bargaining within the cartel, and of communication and renegotiation among cartel members.

Speakers included: Maarten Pieter Schinkel, University of Amsterdam; Margaret Levenstein, University of Michigan; Joe Harrington, Johns Hopkins University; David Gilo, Tel Aviv University; Christian Schultz, University of Copenhagen; Okeoghene Odudu, Cambridge University; Robert Porter, Northwestern University; Hans Theo Normann, Goethe University; Jeroen Hinloopen, University of Amsterdam; Kai-Uwe Kühn, University of Michigan; Robert Sugden, University of East Anglia; Andreas Stephan, University of East Anglia; and Stephen Davies, University of East Anglia.

Presentations

3rd CLEEN Workshop 2009

14-15 May 2009, Tilburg University, Netherlands

CCP members dominated the programme in Tilburg at the Competition Law and Economics European Network (CLEEN) workshop of 2009. A number of them presented or chaired session at this two-day event.
 
Catherine Waddams, Felix Mezzanotte, Oindrila De, Pinar Akman, Felix Mezzanotte, Sebastian Peyer, Christopher Wadlow and Morten Hviid were featured in the programme. 
 

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2009

12 March 2009, The Assembly House, Norwich

Know the Rules or Pay the Price: Firms and Competition Law Enforcement

A number of cases over the last few years have illustrated the potential costs to businesses and individuals of ignoring competition law. In some cases firms knowingly or inadvertently take actions which harm others and which violate competition law. In other cases, firms are the victims of competition abuses. To protect themselves firms need to be aware of what the law says and aims to achieve. This requires adequate advice and training. Moreover, with the rapid development of competition law, such advice and training must be adequate to meet current and future challenges.

This event provided basic information on current UK and EU competition law and policy to around 30 local business representatives and law practitioners. 

Further information about this event click here. The event programme can be found here and slides from the event are also available - please do not quote without authors' permissions.

CCP 4th Annual Conference 

7-8 July 2008, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Balancing Regulation and Competition 

This conference explored the boundaries of competition policy, and the appropriate balance between regulation and competition, both in general terms and using examples from particular sectors. Much of the Centre's work is devoted to analysing condition in which Competition Policy can flourish and improve welfare. By using the insights from leading economists, legal scholars and political scientists to understand where the application of competition policy is constrained or may need to be tempered, the conference sought to identify how other objectives may be affected by the application of competition policy.

Speakers: Catherine Waddams, University of East Anglia; Joe Farrell, University of California, Berkeley; Cosmo Graham, University of Leicester; Mike Wise and Sean Ennis, Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development;  Ruth Hancock, Michael Harker, University of East Anglia; Bruce Lyons, University of East Anglia, Jim Bushnell, University of California, Berkeley; Yves Smeers, Université Catholique de Louvain; Michael Grubb, University of Cambridge; Graham Loomes, University of East Anglia, John Panzar, Northwestern University; Severin Borenstein, University of California, Berkeley; Antonio Estache, Universite Libre de Bruxelles; Howard Shelanski,  University of California, Berkeley; and Andrew Scott, London School of Economics. 

Programme and Presentations

1st CLEEN Workshop 2008

11-13 June 2008, University of East Anglia, Norwich

The first CLEEN Workshop for New Researchers featured presentations from many PhD students, Post Docs and new Faculty from the Centres involved in the Competition Law and Economics European Network (CLEEN).  A varied and intensive academic programme  was combined with many social events to leave delegates exhausted but delighted at the end of the Workshop.

Delegates were welcomed to CCP on Tuesday evening, to provide an opportunity to introduce themselves. The programme began on Wednesday morning, with a session on Mergers, and continued in the afternoon with a roundtable session on Regulation, the first half of which discussed Electricity, and the second half, Telecommunications. On Wednesday evening the delegates went ten pin bowling and then on to dinner at various restaurants in the city of Norwich. 

Thursday morning featured parallel sessions - on Collusion and on Article 82.  After lunch the sessions were on Pricing and on Alternative Objectives in Competition Policy.  Due to rain, the scheduled lunchtime picnic was relocated to the UEA Graduate Bar where European football on TV provided the entertainment.

Special Guest Speakers were featured throughout the programme - Ulla Neergaard from the Copenhagen Business School, Svend Albaek from the EC, and Cecile Aubert from Bordeaux University.

On Friday morning a session on Methodological Issues was held to detail delegates' experiences with their research, whether theoretical researchers, empirical researchers or experimental researchers.  The final session on Friday featured presentations on Enforcement. 

On Friday evening delegates travelled to Sheringham, a seaside village on the North Norfolk coast.  Despite the rain, some went for a walk along the beach, while others huddled in the pub where dinner would later be served.

A hasty departure - which almost left one delegate behind - returned delegates to campus just before midnight, where goodbyes and email addresses were exchanged.  It is hoped that the Workshop will be repeated, in addition to other formats of CLEEN gatherings such as working groups and discussion groups, conferences, other workshops, events that are more specialised yet remain interdisciplinary, and special events for those just starting out on their academic career; it is also hoped that CLEEN gatherings will become a regular occurrence.  The possibility of exchange programmes is already unfolding. 

For now, it is enough to say that the CLEEN New Researchers Workshop 2008 was a success on both the research front and the social front: it provided a comfortably informal atmosphere which was perfect for those who were less confident with presenting, excellent for networking, and valuable for interacting with academics at all levels.

School of Economics Conference

3-5 April 2008, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Reconciling Normative and Behavioural Economics

Supported by CCP and the ESRC, the School of Economics conference offered a diverse range of presentations on the theme of reconciling normative and behavioural economics with a varied audience. 

In response to a need to develop methods of reconciling normative and behavioural economics, the ESRC is supporting a programme of Research into this reconciliation problem, directed by Professor Robert Sugden and Dr Ben McQuillin.

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2008

13 & 15 March 2008 , The Forum, Norwich 

Choosing the Best Energy Deal for You

With recent energy price rises, and a growing public debate on consumers' switching habits and use of price comparison sites, CCP's research on consumers and the energy market couldn't be more timely.  Recent working papers, 'Do Consumers Switch to the Best Supplier?' (also see Policy Briefing and Press Release) and  'Gain or Pain: Does Consumer Activity Reflect Utility Maximisation?', (Policy Briefing and Press Release) suggest that the ability of consumers to choose accurately between alternative suppliers is limited, and that despite Competition Authorities introducing new informational remedies to help consumers search and switch more effectively, consumers' confidence in their own estimates is crucial in encouraging market activity.

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2008, a team from the Centre for Competition Policy at UEA were at the Norwich Forum to help people choose energy suppliers. Centre members were able to assist over 80 people by analysing their gas and electricity bills and providing lower cost alternative suppliers - savings which averaged approximately £180 per person.

Throughout the day we were visited by a local newspaper Eastern Daily Press, and BBC Radio Norfolk which resulted in the event being featured in the press the next day. This raised local awareness which meant on Saturday we welcomed people from the far reaches of Norfolk and beyond.

The event was a huge success with raised awareness of switching amongst the public and positive feedback. 

The data that we gathered from people is due to be followed up on: we want to see, out of all the people we found potential savings for, who has switched, if they have made savings; and if people have not switched, we want to find out why.  Our findings will be featured in our November 2008 Newsletter, which will be a special edition on Consumers.

Romania Workshop 2007

2 & 3 July 2007, Hotel International, Sinaia, Romania 

Electricity Reform in South East Europe

Members of CCP took part in a lively 2-day workshop in Romania on electricity reform in south east Europe.

Participants in the Electricity Reform in South East Europe workshop had the opportunity to learn from specific country case studies as well as from thematic presentations including those on regulatory authorities, the impact on consumers and europeanisation. There were 28 attendees representing 8 countries in the region - a mixture of academics and practitioners from competition authorities and regulators.  The workshop was a pre-cursor to a special edition of the Utilities Policy journal that will be published on this topic in 2008.

CCP 3rd Annual Conference 

14-15 June 2007, University of East Anglia, Norwich

Comparative Perspectives on Multi-Jurisdictional Antitrust Enforcement

CCPs third annual conference covered the various ways the existence of multiple jurisdictions or enforcers shape competition law and its enforcement.  Topics covered included the influence of robust private enforcement remedies the development of a competition law jurisprudence; the tension between the EU Commission and Member States in merger control; the Role of Appellate Review; networks between Competition Authorities; settlements; competition law implementation and the interaction between trade law, competition law and public international law.

Speakers: Stephen Calkins, Wayne State University; Michael Harker, University of East Anglia; Jonathan Galloway, Newcastle University; William E. Kovacic, Federal Trade Commission; Andrew Gavil, Howard University; Firat Cengiz, University of East Anglia;  Scott Hemphill, Columbia University; Stephen Wilks, University of Exeter; Kati Cseres, University of Amsterdam; and Philip Marsden, British Institute of International and Comparative Law. 

Presentations

CCP PhD Workshop 2007

June 2007, University of East Anglia, Norwich

CCP's 2007 PhD Workshop was a tremendous success.  Invited students were made to feel welcomed and at ease by CCP students and enjoyed the atmosphere of the Centre, as well as the setting and the presentation sessions.  The social events helped gel students on a personal level, and by the end of the three days many research ideas had been shared and contacts developed.  Presentations centred around the following sessions: Pricing and Consumers, Networks, Institutional Design, Collusion, Mergers, and International. 

Network of Industrial Economists' Conference 2007

12 January 2007, University of East Anglia, Norwich 

CCP hosted the Network of Industrial Economists' Christmas and New Year Conference at UEA on 12 January 2007. The Conference was a success with around 60 attendees, providing a networking opportunity for academics and practitioners alike. The presentations were engaging and informative, and initiated detailed discussions amongst the audience. For the full programme click here. 

Presentations included:  

Professor Steve Davies & Matt Olzcak - Tacit Collusion and Firm Asymmetries: 'Evidence' from EC Merger Cases

Dr Maarten Pieter Schinkel - Cartel Detection: The Case of Collusive Basing-Point Pricing

Sir John Vickers - Competitive Non-Linear Pricing and Bundling (related paper)

Professor Roman Inderst - Buyer Power and the 'Waterbed' Effect (related paper)

Professor Jan Boone - How (Not) to Measure Competition (related paper)

Professor Bruce Lyons & Dr Andrei Medvedev - Bargaining Over Remedies in Merger Regulation

BA Festival of Science 2006

2-9 September 2006, University of East Anglia, Norwich

'It's Bad to Talk': When Should Firms Talking to each other be a Crime?

CCP's participation in the BA Festival of Science event was a great success with a two-hour session which consisted of a series of presentations. 

An Introduction to Cartels, including very well-received FBI secret film footage of cartel meetings Price-Fixing of Replica Football Kits Some Contemporary Cases - Private Schools and Universities; Televising Professional Football; and Credit Cards.

A survey was also held at the beginning of the session with results revealed towards the end of the event and some interesting responses to the questions were discovered with a number of the audience having changed their answers after being presented with the cases in point.

The survey data will inspire, and be used in, future research on public perceptions of collusion. The presentation slides from the event can be found here.

CCP 2nd Annual Conference

6-7 July 2006, University of East Anglia, Norwich 

Cases in European Competition Policy: the Economic Analysis

Focusing on specific cases, speakers examined the way in which economics is being used more and more in competition investigations throughout Europe.  The cases chosen spanned the whole range of competition cases. The conference attracted delegates from widely varied backgrounds ranging from practitioners, economists and lawyers to leading academics and PhD students and provided high quality papers and an excellent forum for discussion.  All speakers provided a chapter to the book of cases edited by Bruce Lyons, and the conference offered contributors an opportunity to present and receive feedback on their chapter.

Speakers: Marc Ivaldi, , University of Toulouse; ; Margaret Slade, University of Warwick; Kai-Uwe Kuhn, University of Michigan; Bruce Lyons, University of East Anglia; Jean-Charles Rochet, University of Toulouse ; Michael Waterson, University of Warwick; Peter Mollgaard, Copenhagen Business School; John Van Reenen, London School of Economics; Mark Armstrong, University College London; and Paul Dobson, University of Loughborough.

Presentations

ELSE Consumer Behaviour Conference

23-24 June 2006, Institute for Fiscal Studies, London

Consumer Behaviour and Bounded Reality

This conference was co-hosted by CCP and the ESRC Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution (ELSE). 

Find the full programme here. 

CCP Practitioner Workshop 2006

25 May 2006, Simmons & Simmons, London

Collusion: One Model Fits All

CCP ran its first practitioner workshop at Simmons & Simmons law firm in London on 25 May. Morten Hviid and Steve Davies presented current areas of research into types of collusion, which led to many questions and lively discussions. There were a range of delegates, mainly from law firms, but also from academic institutions, the Competition Commission and the BBC.

View the workshop programme and the slides from the event.

Book Launch

January 2006, London Capital Club, London

Merger Control in the UK

The major new book by CCP members, Dr Andrew Scott, Professor Morten Hviid and Professor Bruce Lyons - Merger Control in the UK - was launched at the end of January at the London Capital Club. The event was sponsored by law firm Shearman and Sterling.

The new Chairman of the Competition Commission (CC), Peter Freeman, spoke at the launch and described the book as "an extremely valuable analysis of UK merger control."

The event was attended by representatives of the CC, Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Appeals Tribunal, as well as leading competition lawyers and economic consultants.

CCP 1st Annual Conference

28-29 June 2005, University of East Anglia, Norwich 

Credibility Through Delegation? Independent Agencies in Comparative Perspective

The conference heard a series of distinguished speakers explore the question of credibility in relation to different types of non-majoritarian institution in a variety of institutional settings and contrasting geographical contexts. Issues surrounding the delegation of authority to non-majoritarian institutions such as regulatory agencies, competition authorities and independent central banks were discussed and debated.

Speakers: Giandomenico Majone, European University Institute; William E. Kovacic, The George Washington University Law School; Erik Jones, Johns Hopkins, Bologna; Imelda Maher, London School of Economics; Roger Noll, Stanford; Fabrizio Gilardi, Lausanne; and Michael Harker & Lindsay Stirton, University of East Anglia. 

Presentations

CCP PhD Summer Workshop 2005

26 June - 1 July 2005, University of East Anglia

From 26 June to 1 July CCP hosted its first summer workshop, a week-long event bringing together 22 PhD students from CCP and a wide range of other UK and European institutions. During the week the students presented papers on their research and discussed their work, which spans the core CCP disciplines of economics, law, management and politics and a large range of topics.

CCP Inaugural Conference 

19 January 2005, University of East Anglia, Norwich

The Inaugural Conference of the Centre for Competition Policy (CCP), held at the University of East Anglia (UEA) on January 19th, proved to be a highly successful event. An audience of over 100 invited practitioners, policy makers and academics gathered at the UEA to hear presentations from leaders in the field, Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading, Sir John Vickers, Chief Economist at the Directorate General of Competition at the European Commission, Professor Lars-Hendrik Röller and leading competition lawyer Christopher Bright.

In a stimulating address Sir John Vickers first congratulated CCP on having come so far already in such a short time and also praised the Economic and Social Research Council, which funds CCP,  for having the vision to invest in research into Competition Policy.

He then went on to urge the European Commission to take the initiative in setting policy on still unreformed areas of competition law. He warned that if this wasnt done it would be left to the courts to determine such policy by default. Sir John added that economic principles should be used, rather than fixed rules, to determine whether companies had abused dominant positions in markets.

Professor Röller gave the view from Brussels and welcomed the fact that CCPs research should help to answer some of the challenges for economics and economists in competition policy.

Christopher Bright reflected on the current state of merger control and noted that recent court decisions meant that competition authorities would in future need more justification before attempting to interfere with mergers.

The conference was rounded off with a series of snapshot presentations on some of the research projects being undertaken by CCP. 

ESRC Centre for Competition Policy Launch

14 September 2014, University of East Anglia, Norwich

This launch event served not only as the official opening of the Centres new dedicated and refurbished office premises, but also as an opportunity to thank all those at UEA who have helped make CCP possible.

Welcoming guests to the event Centre Director Professor Catherine Waddams thanked the ESRC for funding CCP and the many individual staff and departments at the UEA for their respective roles in bringing CCP into being. UEA Chancellor Sir Brandon Gough, who will chair the Centres Advisory Board, added that CCP was an important new development that would be a great asset to the University.

The main event of the launch event followed, with a lecture by the Chairman of the Competition Commission, Professor Paul Geroski, entitled Is Competition Policy Really Worth It? In an entertaining and informative presentation Professor Geroski argued that the costs of implementing competition policy are very small compared to the benefits that it delivers both to consumers and to businesses of all sizes.

Highlighting some recent cases where consumers have benefited from Competition Commission inquiries, such as the £325 million to £700 million savings (over four years) from the 2003 mobile phones inquiry, Professor Geroski said competition policy should yield large pay off from minimal resources and that its benefits vastly outweigh the rather modest costs of running competition policy regime.