Peter Møllgaard

University of Southern Denmark | SDU

I år gik Nobelprisen i Økonomi til professor Jean Tirole (Toulouse School of Economics, Institut d’Économie Industrielle) for hans analyse af markedsmagt og regulering. Artiklen gennemgår Jean Tiroles bidrag til moderne industriøkonomi og vores forståelse af, hvordan man bedst håndterer markedsfejl, som er forårsaget af markedsmagt. Artiklen forkla...

The definition of the concept a “service of general economic interest” (SGEI) known from Article 106(2) treaty of the functioning of the European Union is clarified. When a service is determined to be an SGEI, Member States may enact measures and undertakings entrusted with the provision of the SGEI may engage in behaviour which would otherwise be...

In symmetric Cournot and Bertrand duopoly models, we show how responses to unforeseen demand shocks may be asymmetric in two ways: First, there can be (multiple) equilibria in which only one firm adjusts after the shock. Secondly, adjustments following positive and negative shocks differ, in the sense that both firms adjust fully to a positive shoc...

In this paper, we first outline the foundations in economic theory of so-called coordinated effects with a particular view to mergers and with a special focus on transparency. Then, we review a number of seminal merger cases in EU competition policy (Airtours, Sony/BMG, ABF/GBI Business) in light of that theory. Next, we discuss in more detail a re...

Recent decentralisation of EU competition policy led observers to fear that competition authorities in different member states would implement rules differently. This case study shows that such concern is real. A 2006 merger was notified to competition authorities in multiple jurisdictions. Despite a unique consensus on economic modelling and facts...

Introduction and motivation Following a complaint by Swedish competitor Powerpipe, the European Commission paid a surprise visit to nine producers of pre-insulated pipes for district heating systems and their trade association on 28 June 1995. The EU Commission found detailed evidence that the companies had conspired to share markets, fix prices an...

Economic literature often offers conflicting views on the likely efficiency effects of information exchanges, communication between firms, and market transparency. On the one hand, it is argued that increased information dissemination improves firm planning to the benefit of society (including buyers) and allows potential buyers to make correct dec...

We investigate whether improved transparency about prices may increase the countervailing power exercised by buyers of an intermediate good. In a model with an informed manufacturer that sells to both informed and uninformed firms, we show that full transparency cannot be part of equilibrium due to the strategic effect of the resulting informationa...

The pre-insulated pipe cartel was established 1990 in Denmark, was extended to Italy and Germany during 1991 and re-organised in 1994 to cover the entire common market. Cartel members engaged in market sharing, price setting, bid rigging, coordinated predation and delaying of innovation. The European Commission fined the cartel in 1998. In 2005 fou...

We briefly review the rationale behind technological alliances and provide a snapshot of their role in global competition, especially insofar as it is based around intellectual capital. They nicely illustrate the increased importance of horizontal agreements and thus establish the relevance of the topic. We move on to discuss the organisation of in...

Delineation of the relevant market constitutes a pivotal part of most antitrust cases. The standard analysis utilizes a sequential approach. First, the product market is delineated; then the geographical market is defined. Demand and supply substitution in both the product dimension and the geographical dimension will normally be stronger than subs...

We study the rationale for the use of exclusivity to protect transfer of technology in subcontracting agreements. The legal possibility arises through the EU Notice on Subcontracting. Empirically, the link between exclusive agreements and technology transfer among firms in the automotive supply industry in EU candidate countries is surprisingly wea...

Based on diverse research methods, we trace and map industrial economics research in Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the periode of 1880 to 1908. After describing this research in terms of key contributors, we argue that industrial economics developed rather unevenly in the Scandinavian countries. Danish research was mainly theoretical and strongly o...

This paper provides an analysis of technology transfer in automotive supply networks in six EU candidate countries with important vehicle (component) industries. We survey more than 400 firms, representing roughly half of the automotive supply industry. In addition, we have in-depth information from 39 case studies. We address the generation, the o...

Price correlations are used to delineate the geographic market in two recent Danish electricity cases. They indicate that power generators hold temporally transitory and irregularly intermittent dominant positions. Calculation of the Lerner index reveals that they abused this position. The Danish Competition Authority decided to settle this case by...

Inside article!

Asymmetric information and fear of acquiring a “lemon” may explain the paucity of foreign investment in emerging market economies. If investors are uncertain about the profitability of investments, intrinsically inefficient, temporary partnerships or joint ventures may serve as mechanisms through which information is transmitted. Temporary partners...

The paper analyses the extent of and the reasons behind limits to competition policy harmonisation in EU enlargement. Our focus is on vertical restraints. First, we compare the relevant legal regimes towards vertical agreements in the EU and in Eastern Europe. We then describe competition policy practice in all ten EU candidate countries and po...

We study the rationale for the use of exclusivity to protect transfer of technology in subcontracting agreements. The legal possibility arises through the EU Notice on Subcontracting. Empirically, the link between exclusive agreements and technology transfer among firms in the automotive supply industry in EU candidate countries is surprisingly...

Our trust in competition policy is based on faith in markets. When markets are oligopolies, already classical economists’ trust in competition busted: Oligopolies carry the seeds of collusion. To develop, collusion needs trust between firms. But new leniency programmes are designed to bust that trust. I discuss when trust busters are likely to...

We propose an economic interpretation of the definition of a dominant position used by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Then we apply co-integration techniques to test econometrically whether the sole Danish producer of cement holds a dominant position. Import penetration tests show that its conduct is independent of import price and quantity,...

The European Court of Justice’s definition of when a firm has a dominant position has recently come under attack as being meaningless and impossible to measure. We argue that both attacks are wrong, suggest an economic interpretation of domination and propose how it may be measured using modern time series econometrics. We illustrate the approach e...

In this paper we examine the impact of membership in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) on trade between PTA members. Rather than considering the impact of PTA membership on the volume of trade we consider the impact of membership on the structure of trade. For a large sample of countries over the period 1962-2000 we find that membership in a PTA...

Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than eligible nonparticipants. Assessing the causal effects of the program is made difficult, however, by the presence of endogenous selection into the program and syste...

The paper analyses the extent of and the reasons behind limits to competition policy harmonisation in EU enlargement. Our focus is on vertical restraints. First, we compare the relevant legal regimes towards vertical agreements in the EU and in Eastern Europe. We then describe competition policy practice in all ten EU candidate countries and point...

We test the relationship between exclusive agreements and technology transfer among firms in the automotive supply industry in EU candidate countries. Exclusive agreements come in bundles, are reciprocal and are passed on up- or downstream. The type of exclusivity employed by a firm depends on its position in the supply chain. Downstream firms a...

A general model of two-period duopoly is set up to show how inventories can serve a strategic purpose, enabling the firm to commit to raise its latter-period output. The strategic effect of inventories depends on the convexity of the cost function, on the cost of storage, and on the slopes of each firm's individual supply schedules. Our analysis en...

By replicating Articles 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty the Danish Competition Act (put in force January 1998) constituted a shift from the control principle to the prohibition principle. This is an important improvement from the point of view that regulatory legislation should be designed to give business economics incentives to act in a socially benef...

Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than eligible nonparticipants. Assessing the causal effects of the program is made difficult, however, by the presence of endogenous selection into the program and syste...

Empirical structure-conduct-performance studies have not determined which system of beliefs about market power prevails. They have not shown that concentration entails market power - it could be that efficient firms grow large, leading to concentration. I discuss important problems of SCP studies and how to remedy them. Possible checks on market po...

Asymmetric information and fear of acquiring a 'lemon' may explain the paucity of foreign investment in emerging market economies. If investors are uncertain about the profitability of investments, intrinsically inefficient, temporary partnerships or joint ventures may serve as mechanisms through which information is transmitted. Temporary partners...

Asymmetric inforation and fear of acquiring a “lemon” may explain the paucity of foreign investment in emerging market economies. If investors are uncertain about the profitability of investments, intrinsically inefficient, temporary partnerships or joint ventures may serve as mechanisms through which information is transmitted. Temporary partnersh...

In this paper, I present empirical evidence for …ve European countries (Germany, France, UK, Spain and Italy) and the Euro-zone on whether monetary policy shocks produce di¤erent e¤ects on real output growth depending on the phase of the business cycle that the economy is undergoing (the socalled ‘state’ asymmetry). To do so, I apply a multivariate...

Squeezes are registered in the forward market for Brent crude oil. The squeezer accumulates forward contracts and creates artificial demand. This causes the price to surge and introduces uncertainty about the market outcome. Squeezes therefore render the market institution less palatable to other market participants. Producers may have a longterm i...

We analyze the effects of financial and trade globalization on the likelihood of financial crashes in emerging markets. While trade globalization always makes crashes less likely, financial globalization may make them more likely, especially when trade costs are high. Pessimistic expectations can be self-fulfilling and lead to a collapse in demand...

Contrary to existing menu cost models we assume oligopolistic interaction. Symmetric duopoly may lead to asymmetric adjustment even when menu costs are negligible: In some equilibria only one firm adjusts to negative shocks, while both firms adjust to positive shocks.

A theoretical model explaining the determination of prices in the markets for North Sea crude oil is set up. Three markets are analysed in a three-stage game in which market concentration increases by each stage: In the first stage, the International Petroleum Exchange is modeled as a thick futures market. This market is also used to hedge against...

This article provides a selective survey of some recent develop- ments within the field of Industrial Organization .W e emphasize the role of explicitly modelled strategic behavior as a basis for under- standing the functioning of imperfectly competitive markets. Among the topics studied are standard models of oligopoly, horizontal com- petition an...

Most bargaining models of markets have agents trade an indivisible good only once. The quantity traded is determined by the number of agents. I retain the assumption of indivisibility but let agents trade with downward sloping net-demand curves in multiple periods. Matching is random in every period. There is a fixed time constraint. Agents trade i...

Competitive effects of state aid are analysed in an oligopoly with differ- entiated goods. In period 1, firms invest in vertical product improvement. In period 2, they compete. State aid may then harm competitors even if it does not affect pricing directly. Since investments are strategic sub- stitutes, aid that reduces the cost of capital will all...