News
Antitrust Writing Award for Justus Haucap
The article "How Mergers Affect Innovation: Theory and Evidence" by Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap (together with Prof. Dr. Alexander Rasch and Prof. Dr. Joel Stiebale) was awarded with the Antitrust Writing Award. The article analyses how horizontal mergers affect innovation of the merged entity and its non-merging competitors. Using data on horizontal mergers among pharmaceutical firms in …more
Justus Haucap is ranked among the Top 30 most influential economists
According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.), our partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the top 30 most influential economists in Germany. In the total ranking, Haucap holds 21st place. Haucap is a popular advisor, especially in ministries and among members of the Bundestag. This is shown by the political survey, according to which Haucap is among the top ten most influential …more
An Update for the "Grundgesetz" of the Social Market Economy
Digitization creates new business models, new products and new markets. But the digital economy also creates new challenges. Platforms collect data and create monopolies or companies take over small competitors to secure their own market power. Our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap gave a lecture on these and other issues of digitisation at the ACATIS Value Conferenz. To the lecture at Yotubemore
CRRC can acquire Vossloh’s shunter division
The Bundeskartellamt has cleared the takeover of Kiel-based Vossloh Locomotives GmbH by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotives Co. In light of Vossloh's strong market position in Europe on the one hand and CRRC's as yet very weak position in the European market on the other, the question of how the involvement of Chinese state-owned companies is to be assessed under merger control had to be clarified in …more
OLG Düsseldorf prohibits merger of Remondis with DSD
The Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf dismissed Remondis' protest against the prohibition of the merger with Duales System Deutschland (DSD) by the Bundeskartellamt. The court confirmed the Bundeskartellamt's decision according to which the merger would have created a dominant position in the marketing of glass cullet and Remondis would have exploited its market power created by the acquisition. Under …more
Data Protection and Antitrust: New Types of Abuse Cases? An Economist’s View in Light of the German Facebook Decision
The article "Data Protection and Antitrust: New Types of Abuse Cases? An Economist’s View in Light of the German Facebook Decision" by our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap was published as a Highlight in the Book " The Digital Economy – 2019 Highlights Special Edition". Many services on the Internet are seemingly offered for free. People do not have to pay for them, at least not with …more
Competitive Effects of Mergers in highly concentrated Markets
Thyssenkrupp AG plans to sell its entire elevator segment. Kone Corporation, a major player in the elevator and escalator industry (“E&E industry”), has publicly signalled its interest in an acquisition. The Company further signalled that in case of a successful bid it would divest the complete European elevator business of Thyssenkrupp to the private equity firm CVC for antitrust reasons. …more
Double Nomination for the Antitrust Writing Award
Two publications with Düsseldorf Competition Economics participation were nominated for the Antitrust Wiriting Award: "Screening Instruments for Monitoring Market Power−The Return on Withholding Capacity Index [RWC]" by our Managing Director Susanne Thorwarth, together with Olivia Bodnar, Alexander Steinmetz and Marc Bataille. "How mergers affect innovation: Theory and …more
Useful Alternative: Bundeskartellamt honours RWC Index
In its current Market Power Report - Energy the Bundeskartellamt acknowledges the Return on Withholding Capacity (RWC) Index, which Marc Bataille, Olivia Bodnar, Alexander Steinmetz and Susanne Thorwarth have developed as an alternative or supplementary indicator for measuring market power in the electricity generation market. The RWC Index enables an assessment of the risk of abusive capacity …more
Competition economics working group discusses vertical merger effects, algorithms and abusive data processing conditions
The Competition Economics Working Group of the Bundeskartellamt met on 13 December with the participation of Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap. The following topics were on the agenda: Mergers between companies at different stages of the value chain, which can lead to cost increases for competitors (raising rivals' costs), the study on algorithms and competition by the Bundeskartellamt with the French …more
Workshop: The role of national and international retail alliances in the agricultural and food supply chain
Our Partner Prof. Dr. Christian Wey was invited by Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development [DG Agri] and Joint Research Centre [JRC] to present about the “Economics of Retail Association and Buyer Power” on the Workshop “The role of national and international retail alliances in the agricultural and food supply chain” held on 4./5. November 2019 in Bussels. Further …more
Research with Impact
FTC Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Becca Kelly Slaughter prominently cite recent research by our Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap in their statements on the Federal Trade Commission clears Bristol-Myers Squibb acquisition of Celgene. The cited studies can be found here: Justus Haucap, Joel Stiebale [2016], Research: Innovation Suffers When Drug Companies Merge, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW [Aug. 3, …more
Joint Seminar of White & Case and Düsseldorf Competition Economics: "Killer Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical and Digital Industry"
Together with "White & Case", Düsseldorf Competition Economics hosted a seminar on "Killer Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical and Digital Industry". The programme included lectures on the following topics: Theories of harm from an economic and legal perspective Empirical evidence Methods of proving harm Do we need legislative changes? The speakers were: Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap, Partner of …more
Capital: Partner Justus Haucap is one of the most influential minds in digitalization
Who influences the digital future in Germany? According to the business magazine Capital, Düsseldorf Competition Economics partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the 15 most influential minds in digitisation in Germany. Further personalities are the investors Oliver Samwer and Frank Thelen, as well as SAP CEO Christian Klein or Minister of State Dorothee Beer. To the article at capital.demore
Justus Haucap ranks among the 20 most influential economists in Germany
In the current FAZ ranking of the most influential German economists, our Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap ranks 17th in the overall ranking. The ranking of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is published once a year and measures the extent to which an economic researcher is heard in the media, appreciated by politicians as an advisor, and provides impulses in science that encourage other researchers to …more
Justus Haucap is named in GCR’s "Who’s Who Legal" as a standout figure in the German market
DICE Consult Partner Justus Haucap Justus Haucap has been named in GCR's " Who is Who Legal" to the list of leading experts in the field of "Competition". He is an outstanding figure in the German market who is well known for his strong academic knowledge of competition matters. Who's Who Legal identifies the foremost legal practitioners in multiple areas of business law.more
Bundeskartellamt prohibits Remondis takeover of DSD
The Bundeskartellamt has prohibited the merger of DSD and Remondis. According to the President of the Bundeskartellamt, Andreas Mundt, the merger would have led to a significant impediment of competition in the dual systems and higher costs for consumers. A study by Düsseldorf Competition Economics (DICE Consult) on behalf of the bvse industry association came to similar conclusions and also …more
Seminar: Modern antitrust in times of digitalisation with Justus Haucap
Partner Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap is one of the main speakers at the antitrust seminar of the business law firm "White & Case". The seminar will take place on 9 May 2019 in Düsseldorf under the title "Modern Antitrust Law in Times of Digitalisation and New Distribution Formats". Further information as well as a registration form can be found here.more
Press review: How a Mega-Merger Could Damage Competition in the Waste Sector
A Düsseldorf Competition Economics (formerly DICE Consult) study caused a furore in the media. On behalf of the industry association bvse, Düsseldorf Competion Economics conducted a study under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap to examine the effects on competition of the announced takeover of the Dual System Germany [DSD] by the waste management company Remondis. Numerous media such as …more
Haucap in WELT-Interview: "Postage increase is an impertinence"
In an interview with WELT, our partner Prof. Justus Haucap sharply criticizes the planned postage increase of Deutsche Post AG. "What's going on is an imertinence," says Haucap. He is especially critical of the intervention of the Minister of Economic Affairs, which has "nearly undermined the price regulation of the postal service". "For effective control of the postal market, the …more